"It was necessary to write of the persecutions and cruelties which the self-congratulations of our rulers sought to wi…"

"There was also another understanding of history necessary to address, one that became clearer to me when I lived clos…"

"When I was here as a very young person, people would not have had any problem about saying to your face certain words…"

"writing cannot be just about battling and polemics, however invigorating and comforting that can be. Writing is not a…"

"I learned to have pleasure in reading simply because I love stories."

"(does Gurnah think the British know enough in general about the history of their influence around the world?) “No,” h…"

"I don’t see writing as purely fun. I do think that there is something necessary about it. This is what I talked about…"

"(How important is diversity in literature?) I suppose, in order to understand how other people live and what it is th…"

"Literature performs different functions of course. Literature also engages us because we take pleasure in it, a kind …"

"Our histories were partial, silent about many cruelties."