Booker prize-winning novelist Ben Okri has opened up about his craft, his most treasured possessions, and the lessons life has taught him.
The 67-year-old author, known for The Famished Road, reflected on storytelling as a form of lying for a living, but emphasized the transformative power of love.
Born in Minna, Nigeria, Okri spent his childhood between Nigeria and London.
He published his first novel, Flowers and Shadows, in 1980, and won the Booker Prize in 1991 with The Famished Road.
His novel Astonishing the Gods was selected as one of the BBC's 100 novels that shaped our world.
In 2023, he was knighted for services to literature. His latest novel, Waking the Warriors, is set for release on July 16.
Life's Joys and Regrets
Okri recalled a train journey to Arcadia years ago while filming a TV documentary as a moment of ultimate happiness.
He admitted that worrying is the trait he most deplores in himself, while coldness in others deeply bothers him.
Aside from a property, the most expensive item he has bought is a Dalí painting.
Yet his most treasured possession is a photograph of his parents, which he describes with three words: alchemy, love, resilience.
If granted a superpower, Okri would choose enlightenment. He cited the killing of children, environmental indifference, and injustice as sources of unhappiness.
Given the chance to revive something extinct, he would bring back universal respect for the Earth. His most unappealing habit, he confessed, is gargling loudly with salt water.
What scares him about aging is not being there for his daughter.
Growing up, Okri aspired to be a composer, pirate, scientist, and philosopher.
His literary journey faced early skepticism from some critics, but he persisted, ultimately becoming one of the most celebrated writers of his generation.
