Rediscovering Ben Okri

I first stumbled onto Ben Okri when I was on vacation in Malacca. I remember I was staying at a beautiful resort built into the sea inspired by traditional Malay huts/kelongs. I remember very clearly that there was a poetry book in that resort room and a beautiful poem by Mr Okri touched me. I remember i had read it over and over again. It was so beautiful. So moving. And I remember making a mental note that I will read more of his works. Till today that had not happened. But a recent radio session on great Nigerian writers brought him back to my consciousness. And in this short reading cum interview Ben Okri speaks about his mother's stories and how his mother's stories were always hidden lessons on morality. Lessons he did not get when she told them. But stories that he kept alive in his head and whose lessons he pondered on for many years. And then finally got sometimes after 20 years. He also talks about how his mother taught him to ask questions while his father taught him to answer them. In one short anecdote he captures the yin-yang duality beautifully and how as a greater writer he was able to access and use the duality. He also talks about the stories in our collective consciousness and how in some cultures there is a belief that there is a story among the stars waiting to be told. And when a writer connects the dots and writes this story magic is born. He says some call it inspiration. But he finds that materialistic. He rather see it from a more poetic plane.