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Chris Abani

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Chris Abani


Born
in Afikpo, Ebonyi State, Nigeria
December 27, 1966

Website

Genre
Literature & Fiction, Poetry


Christopher Abani (or Chris Abani) is a Nigerian author.

He was a political prisoner in Nigeria at various times during 1985 and 1991. At times he was held in solitary confinement and he was held on death row for some time after being sentenced to death for treason.

He is a Professor at the University of California, Riverside and the recipient of the PEN USA Freedom-to-Write Award, the 2001 Prince Claus Awards, a Lannan Literary Fellowship, a California Book Award, a Hurston-Wright Legacy Award and the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award. Selections of his poetry appear in the online journal Blackbird.

Combine Editions

Average rating: 3.82 · 8,119 ratings · 1,141 reviews · 54 distinct works • Similar authors
GraceLand
3.80 avg rating — 2,630 ratings — published 2004 — 25 editions
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Song for Night
4.01 avg rating — 1,209 ratings — published 2007 — 19 editions
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The Secret History of Las V...
3.49 avg rating — 1,115 ratings — published 2014
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Becoming Abigail
3.63 avg rating — 668 ratings — published 2006 — 17 editions
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The Virgin of Flames: A Novel
3.65 avg rating — 441 ratings — published 2007 — 12 editions
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The Face: Cartography of th...
4.15 avg rating — 308 ratings — published 2014 — 5 editions
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Lagos Noir
3.83 avg rating — 238 ratings — published 2018 — 7 editions
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Sanctificum
4.23 avg rating — 124 ratings — published 2010 — 6 editions
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Kalakuta Republic
4.30 avg rating — 111 ratings — published 2000 — 3 editions
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Smoking the Bible
4.41 avg rating — 106 ratings — published 2022 — 3 editions
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More books by Chris Abani…
Quotes by Chris Abani  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“What I've come to learn is that the world is never saved in grand messianic gestures, but in the simple accumulation of gentle, soft, almost invisible acts of compassion.”
― Chris Abani
2123 likes
Like

“What I've come to learn is that the world is never saved in grand messianic gestures, but in the simple accumulation of gentle, soft, almost invisible acts of compassion, everyday acts of compassion. In South Africa they have a phrase called ubuntu. Ubuntu comes out of a philosophy that says, the only way for me to be human is for you to reflect my humanity back at me. ”
― Chris Abani
tags: compassion, humanity, world
55 likes
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“You know, you can steel your heart against any kind of trouble, any kind of horror. But the simple act of kindness from a complete stranger will unstitch you.”
― Chris Abani
48 likes
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Polls

Which play, poetry collection, or short story collection do you want to read in January 2013?

 
  8 votes, 27.6%

 
  7 votes, 24.1%

a play by Wole Soyinka (we'll have another poll to select one if this wins)
 
  6 votes, 20.7%

 
  2 votes, 6.9%

 
  2 votes, 6.9%

 
  1 vote, 3.4%

 
  1 vote, 3.4%

 
  1 vote, 3.4%

 
  1 vote, 3.4%

Any Caine Prize Anthology (we'll have a poll to select the year)
 
  0 votes, 0.0%

 
  0 votes, 0.0%

 
  0 votes, 0.0%

 
  0 votes, 0.0%

A Poetry Collection by Chris Abani
 
  0 votes, 0.0%

 
  0 votes, 0.0%

29 total votes
More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

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The Book Club: Americanah Pre-Meeting Comments 5 11 Feb 25, 2014 06:44AM  
Literary Fiction ...: Coming Attractions - 2014! 40 213 Mar 02, 2014 10:50PM  
Black Coffee: Do you read multiple books by the same author? 8 177 Mar 07, 2014 04:59PM  


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