“When I write a poem, I go into a state of self-forgetfulness, and something high…” — Ben Okri

Fire is one of my temperaments. It is behind all my work... Fire is a chemical presence.

Home can be the friend you have been searching for all your life or the person you met once very briefly.

You cannot come to a Nigerian restaurant without having pepper soup.

We never think that our mothers will die. It was like suddenly an abyss opened at my feet - I was standing on nothing. It was the strangest thing. Her passing away ripped the solidity out of the world.