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A Way of Being Free
In this inspirational volume, the Booker Prize-winning author of THE FAMISHED ROAD makes essays into an art form. The ten pieces in this beautifully crafted collection range from the personal to the analytical, including a meditation on the role of the poet, a study of Picasso's Minotaur, a paean to human freedom in honour of Salman Rushdie, and an appraisal of fellow-Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe. Lyrical, imaginative and provocative, A Way Of Being Free confirms Ben Okri's status as one of the most inspiring of contempory writers.
144 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1998
28 people are currently reading
787 people want to read
About the author
Ben Okri
86 books990 followersPoet and novelist Ben Okri was born in 1959 in Minna, northern Nigeria, to an Igbo mother and Urhobo father. He grew up in London before returning to Nigeria with his family in 1968. Much of his early fiction explores the political violence that he witnessed at first hand during the civil war in Nigeria. He left the country when a grant from the Nigerian government enabled him to read Comparative Literature at Essex University in England.
He was poetry editor for West Africa magazine between 1983 and 1986 and broadcast regularly for the BBC World Service between 1983 and 1985. He was appointed Fellow Commoner in Creative Arts at Trinity College Cambridge in 1991, a post he held until 1993. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1987, and was awarded honorary doctorates from the universities of Westminster (1997) and Essex (2002).
His first two novels, Flowers and Shadows (1980) and The Landscapes Within (1981), are both set in Nigeria and feature as central characters two young men struggling to make sense of the disintegration and chaos happening in both their family and country. The two collections of stories that followed, Incidents at the Shrine (1986) and Stars of the New Curfew (1988), are set in Lagos and London.
In 1991 Okri was awarded the Booker Prize for Fiction for his novel The Famished Road (1991). Set in a Nigerian village, this is the first in a trilogy of novels which tell the story of Azaro, a spirit child. Azaro's narrative is continued in Songs of Enchantment (1993) and Infinite Riches (1998). Other recent fiction includes Astonishing the Gods (1995) and Dangerous Love (1996), which was awarded the Premio Palmi (Italy) in 2000. His latest novels are In Arcadia (2002) and Starbook (2007).
A collection of poems, An African Elegy, was published in 1992, and an epic poem, Mental Flight, in 1999. A collection of essays, A Way of Being Free, was published in 1997. Ben Okri is also the author of a play, In Exilus.
In his latest book, Tales of Freedom (2009), Okri brings together poetry and story.
Ben Okri is a Vice-President of the English Centre of International PEN, a member of the board of the Royal National Theatre, and was awarded an OBE in 2001. He lives in London.
He was poetry editor for West Africa magazine between 1983 and 1986 and broadcast regularly for the BBC World Service between 1983 and 1985. He was appointed Fellow Commoner in Creative Arts at Trinity College Cambridge in 1991, a post he held until 1993. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1987, and was awarded honorary doctorates from the universities of Westminster (1997) and Essex (2002).
His first two novels, Flowers and Shadows (1980) and The Landscapes Within (1981), are both set in Nigeria and feature as central characters two young men struggling to make sense of the disintegration and chaos happening in both their family and country. The two collections of stories that followed, Incidents at the Shrine (1986) and Stars of the New Curfew (1988), are set in Lagos and London.
In 1991 Okri was awarded the Booker Prize for Fiction for his novel The Famished Road (1991). Set in a Nigerian village, this is the first in a trilogy of novels which tell the story of Azaro, a spirit child. Azaro's narrative is continued in Songs of Enchantment (1993) and Infinite Riches (1998). Other recent fiction includes Astonishing the Gods (1995) and Dangerous Love (1996), which was awarded the Premio Palmi (Italy) in 2000. His latest novels are In Arcadia (2002) and Starbook (2007).
A collection of poems, An African Elegy, was published in 1992, and an epic poem, Mental Flight, in 1999. A collection of essays, A Way of Being Free, was published in 1997. Ben Okri is also the author of a play, In Exilus.
In his latest book, Tales of Freedom (2009), Okri brings together poetry and story.
Ben Okri is a Vice-President of the English Centre of International PEN, a member of the board of the Royal National Theatre, and was awarded an OBE in 2001. He lives in London.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
October 1, 2012
Ben Okri’s fiction, non-fiction and poetry are a steady source of rejuvenation for the tired mind. I am reading and have been reading his collection of essays A Way of Being Free for more than a year. It’s a slim volume but the ideas it contains are astoundingly heavy. They require deep thinking and long digestion periods. I read a few lines, think about it and keep thinking long after so much so that I need to put the book down and a few weeks go by before I can pick it up again. In the meantime, I can fit in many other books. That is the way it’s been. In the middle, I realised why I was doing this: I wanted the book to go on forever.
A Way of Being Free is a collection of essays on the topic of the function of art and literature in society. It’s an answer to all those people who ask the purpose of an education in the arts or humanities, the meaningful career choices available to humanities graduates and also my High School Chemistry teacher who was shocked by my choice and memorably asked me ‘What scope?’ when he heard that I was pursuing my Bachelor’s in English literature.
It is also more than that. It’s in line with the convention of searching and defining the artist/writer’s role in a modern society. It belongs to the same tradition as P.B.Shelley’s A Defence of Poetry (‘Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.’) Wordsworth’s Preface to Lyrical Ballads ( ”…the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquillity.’ ) Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet (‘This most of all: ask yourself in the most silent hour of your night: must I write?’) and Wislawa Szymborska’s Nobel acceptance speech titled The Poet and the World (‘Whatever inspiration is, it’s born from a continuous “I don’t know.””)
When reading Okri, I feel like I am being pulled into a larger world. A world where everyday realities fade and for a brief while I have to grapple with abstract expressions, metaphorical and metaphysical exploration. It’s a voyage and I am a happy traveler.
A Way of Being Free is a collection of essays on the topic of the function of art and literature in society. It’s an answer to all those people who ask the purpose of an education in the arts or humanities, the meaningful career choices available to humanities graduates and also my High School Chemistry teacher who was shocked by my choice and memorably asked me ‘What scope?’ when he heard that I was pursuing my Bachelor’s in English literature.
It is also more than that. It’s in line with the convention of searching and defining the artist/writer’s role in a modern society. It belongs to the same tradition as P.B.Shelley’s A Defence of Poetry (‘Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.’) Wordsworth’s Preface to Lyrical Ballads ( ”…the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquillity.’ ) Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet (‘This most of all: ask yourself in the most silent hour of your night: must I write?’) and Wislawa Szymborska’s Nobel acceptance speech titled The Poet and the World (‘Whatever inspiration is, it’s born from a continuous “I don’t know.””)
When reading Okri, I feel like I am being pulled into a larger world. A world where everyday realities fade and for a brief while I have to grapple with abstract expressions, metaphorical and metaphysical exploration. It’s a voyage and I am a happy traveler.
April 9, 2020
The power and beauty of A Way Of Being Free is not just in how Ben Okri wields language, sending words dancing across the page in an often gentle movement, but also in the thoughts and feelings he expresses. This is a book to be read repeatedly and regularly. As a writer, he makes me want to be better but also to carry his views on storytelling beyond these pages. An evangelist of sorts for storytelling because he articulates the importance and relevance of stories in a way that I have struggled to but agree with wholeheartedly. A beautifully written book.
March 5, 2021
I was taking a first stab at Ben Okri and decided to dip in the shallow end before I get around to reading The Famished Road a bit later. This was a small collection that you can finish in a day or if you are dreamy can read it all year long. I really liked the first essay and the one on Othello, the others were mostly okay. They aim to give a pick me up to anyone who has ever endeavored to create content. Think of a variant of Rilke's Letters to a young poet in essay form. It should be a breezy read but most of those essays felt stilted like a stitching together of various quotes with no overarching narrative. This is why you are advised against dumping research notes in an article. Narrative always comes first. Still, it has some gems in there and you would benefit more from reading it than not.
June 17, 2022
This compilation of 12 essays was my first introduction to Ben Okri's writing, and I like his style, enough to contemplate picking up at least one of his fiction books in the near future. That said, though there were a lot of great quotes and insights in this book -- my favorites are the musings on Othello and on the joy and downside of writing -- ultimately I'm not sure if this will be memorable enough for me personally in the long run.
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February 7, 2020DNF
There was nothing wrong about this book, I just hate literature about literature.
There was nothing wrong about this book, I just hate literature about literature.
February 15, 2018
Summary: Ignite the fire inside that extends your limits and creativity. Embrace your Minotaur and value both yin-yang. This can be done when you are fearless. Embrace the stories, and the storyteller and if possible become one. That is the way of being free.
September 2, 2019
I love this book with all my heart!!
March 30, 2022
Ben Okri states in the introduction that his approach to writing essays "has always been a personal one" and that he "always aims for uncluttered expression." That sound promising yet he spends a large amount of time writing about what has happened to "you" or "us" in order to expand his personal experiences into universals for more gravity. There are so many assumed universals throughout this book which also explicitly values relativity, multiplicity, and "the fluid nature of reality." There are way too many statements that follow the pattern of "y is always x." The unexamined authoritative certainty in these statements is awkward. I would never say that essays on the importance of writing are ALWAYS self-aggrandizing, but sometimes they are. My favorite of his "always" statements is actually about certainty. He writes, "Certainty has always been the enemy of art and creativity; more than that it has been the enemy of humanity." The irony is that certainty is a centerpiece in his own conceptions and values throughout this book and his writing is cluttered with certainties and unpacked assumptions.
There are many moments that read like enthusiastic cliches about creativity and writing, with familiar perspectives but generally unremarkable reflections, like the appearance of the overused Nietzsche quote "That which does not kill us makes us stronger." The writing is sometimes very muddled or half-cooked, like the section with a number of weak aphorisms that felt like first attempts, not a finished text. Even within the content I found most compelling, aspects of his writing style were constantly irritating. Often inconsistencies and contradictions drain the potential profundity from his writing, especially when he is talking about ideas like subjectivity, truth, beauty, freedom, and the creation of reality.
This book has some great moments, but most often it feels like it's grasping for greatness and not achieving it.
There are many moments that read like enthusiastic cliches about creativity and writing, with familiar perspectives but generally unremarkable reflections, like the appearance of the overused Nietzsche quote "That which does not kill us makes us stronger." The writing is sometimes very muddled or half-cooked, like the section with a number of weak aphorisms that felt like first attempts, not a finished text. Even within the content I found most compelling, aspects of his writing style were constantly irritating. Often inconsistencies and contradictions drain the potential profundity from his writing, especially when he is talking about ideas like subjectivity, truth, beauty, freedom, and the creation of reality.
This book has some great moments, but most often it feels like it's grasping for greatness and not achieving it.
November 8, 2024
A thoughtful book. The timing isn’t lost on me with the US election and reading these passages about storytelling:
Stories can destroy civilisations, can win wars, can lose them, can conquer hearts by the millions, can transform enemies into friends, can help the sick towards healing, can sow the seeds of the creation of empires, can undo them, can reshape the psychic mould of a people, can remould the political and spiritual temper of an age.
The magician and the politician also have much in common: They both have to draw our attention away from what they are really doing.
Separately my favourite passage of the entire book is:
The highest kind of writing - which must not be confused with the most ambitious kind - belongs to the realm of grace. Talent is a part of it, certainly; a thorough understanding of the secret laws, absolutely. But finding the subject and theme which is imperfect harmony with deepest nature, your forgotten selves, your hidden dreams, and the full unresonated essence of your life - now that cannot be reached through searching, nor can it be stumbled upon through ambition. That sort of serendipity comes up upon you on a lucky day. It may emerge even out of a misfortune or defeat. You may happen upon it without realising that this is the work through which your whole life will sing. We should always be ready. We should always be humble. Creativity should always be a form of prayer.
Stories can destroy civilisations, can win wars, can lose them, can conquer hearts by the millions, can transform enemies into friends, can help the sick towards healing, can sow the seeds of the creation of empires, can undo them, can reshape the psychic mould of a people, can remould the political and spiritual temper of an age.
The magician and the politician also have much in common: They both have to draw our attention away from what they are really doing.
Separately my favourite passage of the entire book is:
The highest kind of writing - which must not be confused with the most ambitious kind - belongs to the realm of grace. Talent is a part of it, certainly; a thorough understanding of the secret laws, absolutely. But finding the subject and theme which is imperfect harmony with deepest nature, your forgotten selves, your hidden dreams, and the full unresonated essence of your life - now that cannot be reached through searching, nor can it be stumbled upon through ambition. That sort of serendipity comes up upon you on a lucky day. It may emerge even out of a misfortune or defeat. You may happen upon it without realising that this is the work through which your whole life will sing. We should always be ready. We should always be humble. Creativity should always be a form of prayer.
March 23, 2021
I've tried to read The Famished Road three times, up to sixty to eighty pages and could not enter the magic of the novel to my dismay. I will try again as I enjoyed A Way of Being Free so much. Just finishing Prisms, I found the two amazingly similar, in the same stream of depth, literature, shadow, wisdom, and Aha's. Okri confirms his excellence as writer. He urges us to see what we see, then see its opposite, it's underbelly and the opportunity for positive change. Being a writer, I especially value the parts directed to writers. I enjoyed the entire book and hold close his offering to experience the freedom of change.
October 21, 2019
One of the finest works of non fictions I have read so far. Okri not only takes you to a different realm where dreams merge with reality but redefines the very meaning of the aesthetics of creativity and what it means to be human. Happy I came across this fabulous work of sheer art. Do get your hands on it if you really want to be free from your pretentious self.
August 25, 2021
More like a read as you need book than a work of fiction of any sort, but nonetheless one of the most inspiring books for storytelling purposes. To read it is to get to comprehend how the mind of a storyteller works, where to draw inspiration and how stories, in general, can shape the world. Definitely recommend it.
January 20, 2019
"Creativity of any valuable kind is one of the fullest expressions of the human and the godlike within us."
Every writer should read this book, and all the non-writers too. Such a stunning little work, and a quick read, but the kind you should keep on a nearby shelf and return to again and again.
Every writer should read this book, and all the non-writers too. Such a stunning little work, and a quick read, but the kind you should keep on a nearby shelf and return to again and again.
June 30, 2017
This book tells exactly that. A way to be free...
July 15, 2021
One of my all-time favourites. The book that made me fall in love with the author.
April 2, 2024
My most favorite poetry!
January 20, 2025
Note to self: this book is worthy of making a home on my bookshelf.
3.5 stars for me.
3.5 stars for me.
January 29, 2025
3.5 stars
February 3, 2025
An absolute gem of a book. I have lately been writing down significant and beautiful quotes from the book I have just read. This book is one perpetual quote - every line is philosophy; is beauty.
July 12, 2025
Very black & white thinking. Quite two-dimensional, superficial and questions. I don't want to be told what to think, especially when it lacks depth.
September 26, 2024
While the World Sleeps- ⭐
Very Boring. Wanted to DNF, but I didn’t.
Creativity and the Minotaur- ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Newton’s Child- ⭐⭐⭐
This was somehow both boring and interesting. The part specifically about writing was my favourite part.
The Joys of Storytelling I- ⭐⭐⭐
1/2 Split into 14 small parts. Some were really good, most started good then lost me towards the end.
The Human Race is Not Yet Free- ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2
My favourite part so far!
The Joys of Storytelling II- ⭐⭐⭐
Split into 4 parts. Part 2 was my favourite, but they were all just fine.
Leaping out of Shakespeare’s Terror: Five Meditations on Othello- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was great! Never liked Shakespeare, never read Othello, so I was nervous going into this part, but wow!
Beyond Words- ⭐⭐⭐ 1/2
Split into 4 parts. This was fine, almost good, but not. Favourite part was the first.
Amongst the Silent Stones- ⭐⭐⭐
Fables are Made of This: For Ken Saro-Wiwa (1941-96)- ⭐⭐
This was as boring as the first essay, but I liked the last page.
The Joys of Storytelling III- ⭐⭐ 1/2
When it hit, it was great. When it missed, it really missed.
Redreaming the World- ⭐⭐
Another one to end the collection. Woo!
Very Boring. Wanted to DNF, but I didn’t.
Creativity and the Minotaur- ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Newton’s Child- ⭐⭐⭐
This was somehow both boring and interesting. The part specifically about writing was my favourite part.
The Joys of Storytelling I- ⭐⭐⭐
1/2 Split into 14 small parts. Some were really good, most started good then lost me towards the end.
The Human Race is Not Yet Free- ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2
My favourite part so far!
The Joys of Storytelling II- ⭐⭐⭐
Split into 4 parts. Part 2 was my favourite, but they were all just fine.
Leaping out of Shakespeare’s Terror: Five Meditations on Othello- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was great! Never liked Shakespeare, never read Othello, so I was nervous going into this part, but wow!
Beyond Words- ⭐⭐⭐ 1/2
Split into 4 parts. This was fine, almost good, but not. Favourite part was the first.
Amongst the Silent Stones- ⭐⭐⭐
Fables are Made of This: For Ken Saro-Wiwa (1941-96)- ⭐⭐
This was as boring as the first essay, but I liked the last page.
The Joys of Storytelling III- ⭐⭐ 1/2
When it hit, it was great. When it missed, it really missed.
Redreaming the World- ⭐⭐
Another one to end the collection. Woo!
January 6, 2014
Pretty disappointing coming down from the excellent “Tales of Freedom”. This one is full of tired ideas that we have all heard a million times before, pointless namedropping that are seemingly supposed to impress us and cringe worthy writing that would be painful if it were to come from a high school student. His implied reasons as to why Dante picked Virgil as his guide are faulty. The only somewhat worthwhile piece (the one about Othello) makes the implication that white people cannot truly comprehend the inner workings of someone black. If you believe this true then you should abstain for passing all of the comments of how white people interpret the whole thing unless if you wish to imply a superiority of a black mind over a white one. This is not even mentioning a couple of almost afrocentric comments at one point.
March 25, 2018
Twelve essays by Ben Okri about the importance of writing, art and creativity in expressing freedom and writing being an integral part of life.
The essay on Othello was the gem hidden in the book. It was mesmerizing and thought provoking, as comments on racism, sexuality and relationships made me have a deeper appreciation of the play.
Unfortunately, I was unable to appreciate the remaining eleven essays. While there was the odd paragraph that sparked my interest, I found the remaining essays to be disjointed, as though Mr. Okri selected random bits and pieces out of several notebooks and decided to put them in the same chapter.
Ben Okri said that reading is a co-production between writer and reader. In my case, the co-production was not sucessful, but this may have been because his writing style in this book, did not appeal to me.
The essay on Othello was the gem hidden in the book. It was mesmerizing and thought provoking, as comments on racism, sexuality and relationships made me have a deeper appreciation of the play.
Unfortunately, I was unable to appreciate the remaining eleven essays. While there was the odd paragraph that sparked my interest, I found the remaining essays to be disjointed, as though Mr. Okri selected random bits and pieces out of several notebooks and decided to put them in the same chapter.
Ben Okri said that reading is a co-production between writer and reader. In my case, the co-production was not sucessful, but this may have been because his writing style in this book, did not appeal to me.
July 10, 2021
I decided to reread this again this year after a tumultuous 2020 and beginning of 2021. You know how books and words and stories can find you when you need them most? I feel that when I first read this book and discovered Ben Okri, this was the case and it’s true today as it was over a decade ago. Ben Okri writes poetically, prophetically and poignantly. His words hit my soul like an arrow. I remember why I’m a writer and storyteller. His philosophies and observations remind me why I bleed through my pen. If you are philosophical, if you like to dive into the depth of things, I recommend Ben Okri’s book. It’s provoking and enlightening. A true masterpiece that I will continue reading and rereading until the end of my days.
August 10, 2007
1. a book about how to fight anger, rage and selfish inside ourself. people are born equal and have the same right to feel the pleasure of life.
2. giving a way out to others is not different with trying to understand others in ourself. (c wat i mean?)
3. everybody have their own childish personality but some aware of it and some don't, well... just try to understand what lies beneath your skin?
4. at least you'll look like an intelectual people, just in case when you die while you are reading this book.
2. giving a way out to others is not different with trying to understand others in ourself. (c wat i mean?)
3. everybody have their own childish personality but some aware of it and some don't, well... just try to understand what lies beneath your skin?
4. at least you'll look like an intelectual people, just in case when you die while you are reading this book.
November 6, 2015
"Bible is one of the world's greatest fountains of fiction and dream"
"We are part human. Part stories"
"In Africa everything is a story, everything is a repository of stories"
"The African mind is essentially abstract, and their storytelling is esentially philosophical"
The happiness of Africa is in its nostalgia for the future, and its dreams of a golden age"
"We are part human. Part stories"
"In Africa everything is a story, everything is a repository of stories"
"The African mind is essentially abstract, and their storytelling is esentially philosophical"
The happiness of Africa is in its nostalgia for the future, and its dreams of a golden age"
November 10, 2020
For anyone who is studying English Lit. at University. Ben Okri encompasses what it is like to feel obligated as both a writer and artist to uncover certain truths that we otherwise would rather ignore. Okri is admittedly one of my favourite Authors. Reading his essays was so incredibly satisfying, as much like Paulo Coelho, he writes of the human condition with both honesty and faith.
May 19, 2010
a must reader for all reads ,essays from okri
June 23, 2015
The book contains 12 essays by Ben okri, which are highly philosophical and make you think about passion, life and creativity. Each essay were written in different time, for different purpose.
July 8, 2016
Enjoyable thoughts from Ben Okri
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews