I began my writing life as a poet, so poetry has always been fundamental. I evolved from poetry to journalism to stories to novels. But poetry was always there.
Interpretation
Poetry is a foundational element of the author's writing journey that has influenced his evolution as a writer.
Ben Okri reflects on his journey as a writer, emphasizing that poetry has been a constant and essential part of his creative process. Despite transitioning through various forms of writing, including journalism and fiction, his roots in poetry have played a significant role in shaping his voice and style.
In practice
In a creative writing workshop to inspire budding writers.
One human life is deeper than the ocean. Strange fishes and sea-monsters and mighty plants live in the rock-bed of our spirits. The whole of human history is an undiscovered continent deep in our souls. There are dolphins, plants that dream, magic birds inside us. The sky is inside us. The earth is in us.
Our time here is magic! It's the only space you have to realize whatever it is that is beautiful, whatever is true, whatever is great, whatever is potential, whatever is rare, whatever is unique, in. It's the only space.
Don't despair too much if you see beautiful things destroyed, if you see them perish. Because the best things are always growing in secret.
The acknowledged legislators of the world take the world as given. They dislike mysteries, for mysteries cannot be coded, or legislated, and wonder cannot be made into law. And so these legislators police the accepted frontiers of things.
We can still astonish the gods in humanity_x000D_ _x000D_ And be the stuff of future legends,_x000D_ _x000D_ If we but dare to be real,_x000D_ _x000D_ And have the courage to see_x000D_ _x000D_ That this is the time to dream_x000D_ _x000D_ The best dream of them all.
Politics is the art of the possible; creativity is the art of the impossible.
Overacting is a self-indulgence, while underacting comes either through a lack of talent or a lack of courage.
A good producer brings out the best in the artist he's working with. You shouldn't be able to listen to something and say, 'So-and-so produced this album.'
I get my best ideas in a thunderstorm. I have the power and majesty of nature on my side.
Exaggerate the essential, leave the obvious vague.
Poetry is the journal of the sea animal living on land, wanting to fly in the air. Poetry is a search for syllables to shoot at the barriers of the unknown and the unknowable. Poetry is a phantom script telling how rainbows are made and why they go away.
Even if the world ends, the Music will still survive...
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.