Allison Heavens

“Some people flinch when you talk about art in the context of the needs of society thinking you are introducing something far too common for a discussion of art. Why should art have a purpose and a use? Art shouldn't be concerned with purpose and reason and need, they say. These are improper. But from the very beginning, it seems to me, stories have indeed been meant to be enjoyed, to appeal to that part of us which enjoys good form and good shape and good sound.”
― Chinua Achebe, There Was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra

“People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite... Man's goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished.”
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom

“You love another person not because of his virtues- that is infatuation- but in spite of his faults," he said to her. "Love has no place for idealization.”
― Sudhir Kakar, The Seeker

“People from different parts of the world can respond to the same story if it says something to them about their own history and their own experience.”
― Chinua Achebe, There Was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra