Intelligent

A Time for New Dreams Poetic Essays

Ben Okri — 2011

Booker Prize-winning novelist and one of Britain's foremost poets, Ben Okri is a passionate advocate of the written word. In A Time for New Dreams he breaks new ground in an unusual collection of linked essays, which address such diverse themes as childhood, self-censorship, the role of beauty, the importance of education and the real significance of the recent economic meltdown. Proving that 'true literature tears up the script' of how we see ourselves, A Time for New Dreams is provocative and thought-provoking. In an intriguing marriage of style and content, the concise but perfectly formed essays in this collection push the parameters of writing whilst asking profound questions about who we are and the future that awaits us.

Reviews

Selin@slnnn

Mar 9, 2022

"1. There is a secret trail of books meant to inspire and enlighten you. Find that trail. 2. Read outside your nation, colour, class and gender. 3. Read the books your parents hate. 4. Read the books your parents love. 5. Have one or two authors that are important, that speak to you; and make their works your secret passion. 6. Read widely, for fun, for stimulation, for escape. 7. Don't read what everyone else is reading. Check them out later, cautiously. 8. Read what you're not supposed to read. 9. Read for your own liberation and mental freedom. 10. Books are like mirrors. Don't just read the words. Go into the mirror. That is where the real secrets are. Inside. Behind. That's where the gods dream, where our realities are born. 10 1/2. Read the world. It is the most mysterious book of all."

Angus Bretherick@angoisse

Sep 30, 2023

Moray Lyle McIntosh@bookish_arcadia

Dec 5, 2021