"I wanted readers to feel that the book speaks to them in a living language—not one that feels distant or inaccessible."

Athambile Masola See all quotes by Athambile Masola →

React to this quote

More by Athambile Masola

“We continue to live in a world shaped by racial hierarchies and inequalities”

“Black Consciousness teaches us that dignity isn’t something we request; it’s something we inherently possess.”

“One risk we face is epistemicide—the disappearance of knowledge systems as languages decline. Thus, every text written, translated, or taught in isiXhosa or other African languages helps protect that knowledge and ensures our stories, ideas, and ways of thinking remain alive”

“Literature plays a crucial role because language is not just communication; it embodies culture, memory, and knowledge”

“Language reflects ideology, and when translating a text rooted in Black Consciousness, every word carries weight”

“Translation is never just linguistic; it’s also political, historical, and cultural”

Resonant Thoughts

"So I wanted to say she's safe and sound. And for those of you who are still concerned, I saw her this morning for the last time — and her whole face here, which was ravaged and gone, seemingly, was no…"

— Ysabella Brave

Music1979

#writing

"In making these comments, my motive is really not to go to all the trouble for the sake of the ancient author, but because I feel I have an obligation to the future readers and wish to do something ab…"

— Jin Shengtan

Literature1608–1661

#history

"Francis Fukuyama seized on the ignominious collapse of the Soviet system as proof that “the end point of mankind’s ideological evolution” was “the universalization of Western liberal democracy as the …"

— Allen C. Guelzo

Politics1953

#politics

"With the respectability of the senses and feelings established, textbooks written by the Scottish philosophers began to include such topics as perception, memory, imagination, association, attention, …"

— Dugald Stewart

Mathematics1753–1828

#mind