Quote by Birago Diop: “Listen more to things than to beings. Hear the fire's voice, hear the water's voice.”

This powerful line encourages a deeper connection with the natural world, suggesting that inanimate objects and elements possess their own wisdom. It advises us to pay attention to the subtle messages and energies of nature, which can offer profound insights beyond human communication and understanding.

Emerging from French colonial rule, Diop's work often revisited the spiritual heritage of West Africa, emphasizing the interconnectedness of all existence. This quote reflects a time when African intellectuals were reaffirming indigenous cosmologies against Western scientific rationalism.

Senegalese poet and short story writer associated with the Négritude movement, best known for his adaptations of West African folk tales and for his poem 'Souffles,' from which this line is drawn. He worked as a veterinarian across West Africa and his literary work was deeply rooted in the oral traditions of the Wolof and other Senegalese cultures.