Being a twin, and being my sister's twin, is such a defining part of my life that I … - Taiye Selasi

Same topic Authors

Quote of the day

I thought, transgender people are much worse off than I am. That's why they're willing to risk everything to be who they are. But the older I got, the harder it got to stay in my body.

Taiye Selasi

Being a twin, and being my sister's twin, is such a defining part of my life that I wouldn't know how to be who I am, including a writer, without that being somehow at the centre.

Defining, Know, Life, Twin, Twins, Who I Am

Same Author Quotes

As a writer, one is obliged to release her words, to let them live in the world on their own.

Obliged, Release, World, Writer

As a novelist, I ask of myself only that I tell the truth and that I tell it beautifully.

Ask, Asks, Novelist, Novelists, Tell, Telling The Truth

The big ideas always come in flashes. I don't really craft stories that much. I genuinely don't know where these people come from and I've often wondered if writing is just a socially acceptable form of madness.

Ideas, People, Stories, Wondered, Writing

So often, literature about African people is conflated with literature about African politics, as if the state were somehow of greater import or interest than the individual.

People, Literature, Individual, Greater, Somehow

What distinguishes [Afropolitans] is a willingness to complicate Africa – namely, to engage with, critique, and celebrate the parts of Africa that mean most to them. Perhaps what most typifies the Afropolitan consciousness is the refusal to oversimplify; the effort to understand what is ailing in Africa alongside the desire to honour what is wonderful, unique. Rather than essentialising the geographical entity, we seek to comprehend the cultural complexity; to honour the intellectual and spiritual legacy; and to sustain our parents’ cultures.

Celebrate, Effort, Essentialising, Mean, Spiritual, Unique