BEN OKRI
The Comic Destiny
As one of Britain’s foremost poets, Ben Okri brings both poetry and story together, paring writing and image down to their essentials.
This significant title story ‘The Comic Destiny’ forms the centrepiece of this collection, complemented by thirteen magical stokus. In his new introduction Ben Okri describes it as a talisman, an alchemic instigator for much of his later work. The stoku is a blend of story and haiku. And thirteen, according to the author, is the number of liberation.
All these stories are about freedom. They flow easily, but burn slowly. And they offer the possibility of freedom beyond the confines of our usual perception.
‘Moments of genuine insight and poetry’ Guardian.
‘Okri’s writing has a light-as-air elegance, yet its seriousness keeps the stories gravity bound’ New Statesman.
Latest Book
Madame Sosostris and the Festival for the Brokenhearted
Novel (2025) - Head of Zeus
In this modern fable with the impish magic of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a masked ball makes two upper-class British couples see each other in a new light. A wise, enchanting novel about love, power, and our many selves—past and future, public and private—from the Booker Prize–winning author.