Karen King-Aribisala

“OUR Wife and Other Stories is my first published collection of short stories. The collection was my way of connecting with the Nigerian society, a way of understanding the various cultures, which I confronted, particularly, the Yoruba culture.”

“Reading per se becomes exciting; essential to nation-building, individual-building and indeed world-building. It is essentially a certain sensitising of the other whether that other is an eagle or a fork or a person or a foreigner or one’s other self… the list, the joy, the communication with that other, is as nourishing of the soul and the spirit as it is endless.”

“The best way to promote a reading culture is to make it a holistic enterprise in its relation to other disciplines; by presentations – wherever possible – of people and offices, which have something to do with the text. The reading culture can also be promoted by using other media such as films to see the text in another light or from a different perspective.”

“We can only go forward as a nation; as a human race when male and female work together to realise a harmonious ideal. This sensitisation can be effected through dialogue; by accountability; by jettisoning fear of the other whoever that other might be; both on individual and group levels.”

“The culture of female silence is being broken here, too, in Nigeria. We are being heard. We are being listened to. Action is being taken on many levels to jettison prejudice and injustice towards women. The culture of women’s silence in the face of oppression is coming to an end.”

“Storytelling is my way of organising and structuring my thoughts, emotions and environment; and transforming these elements into a ‘workable reality’. It affords me the means of asking questions of myself and of others; of communicating with myself and others. On completion of a particular story, I am empowered to evaluate various issues from different perspectives and handle them more effectively. Storytelling is life-giving; it transforms dead reality into a vibrant living entity.”