Anohni Quotes

I believe the artist has an obligation to society.

As an artist, I used to think that my responsibility was to do good work. But I had to learn from the '70s on that being a public figure presents another aspect of responsibility.

My creativity and my political work are linked. I don't do this work out of guilt or out of responsibility.

I don't think any one person, whether artist or not, has been given permission by anyone to put the responsibility of the way things are on anyone else.

Unfortunately, this country requires body bags before it will act...

We simply have to end this thing. It is out of control.

Art and politics must move closer together. Reflection and action must be equally valid in good men if history is not to take one course and art another.

There is no time for normal General Staff procedure. Speed is essential and your efforts should be informal.

I just genuinely feel that that's what you do when you're an artist: You stick up for the people around you.

It's my responsibility as an artist and public figure to put the right frequency out there.

Aretha Franklin was as important to the civil-rights movement as Malcolm X and Medgar Evers. Artists can choose to take on the tremendous amount of responsibility we have, or choose to ignore it.

Cinema leaves a deep impact on the society. As creative people and entertainment film-makers, we have to be responsible at some point as we are also the conscious citizens of this country.

At this point, in 2008, if you put out a book, a movie, or write a verse, paint a painting, it should have some sort of social value.

I remember going to see Amiri Baraka. It wasn't actually too long before he died. He said, "You've got to write to change the world!" I was like, "Not me, no, no, no, no."

Did he say:"Hullo,Pippin!This is a pleasant surprise!"?No,indeed!He said:"Get up,you tom-fool of a Took!Where,in the name of wonder,in all this ruin is Treebeard?I want him.Quick" -Pippin Took

When you're running down the street on fire, people get out of your way!

Husband a lie, and trump it up in some extraordinary emergency.

I believe that artists should be part of the culture. I think that my work clearly bears that out.

We’re burning,” Sadie pointed out helpfully. “Noticed!” I yelled back.

Never before have we had so little time in which to do so much.

Can we remain indifferent before the problems associated with such realities as climate change?

The answers to the human problems of ecology are to be found in economy. And the answers to the problems of economy are to be found in culture and character. To fail to see this is to go on dividing the world falsely between guilty producers and innocent consumers.

All the fatt's in the fire.

When my country, into which I had just set my foot, was set on fire about my ears, it was time to stir. It was time for every man to stir.