Being the first black Nobel laureate, and the first African, the African world considered me personal property. I lost the remaining shreds of my anonymity, even to walk a few yards in London, Paris or Frankfurt without being stopped.
The writer is the visionary of his people... He anticipates, he warns.
I'm an Afro-realist. I take what comes, and I do my best to affect what is unacceptable in society.
I'm not sure I'm trying to communicate a message. I'm just trying to be part of the movement away from the unacceptable present.
I am a glutton for tranquility.
Books and all forms of writing have always been objects of terror to those who seek to suppress the truth.
