Even if we want to eradicate our ghosts, our dead, our murdered, even if you erase a name and the record of the existence of a person, somebody remembers.

I come from a culture that has refined the art of the dirge to a sublime level.

Even though we've written epic poems and made incredible films about love, I still don't think anyone can understand what it is, or why it means everything.

I like talking to myself and making patterns out of the letters of the alphabet on blank surfaces.

Every Kenyan writer has offered me something to hold onto, something to believe in.

One day, I was running to the river. Along the way there was the most exquisite butterfly, a tiny little thing, on the pavement. I kind of jumped over it. And then two days later I woke up in the middle of the night with a character running, jumping over butterflies on the streets of Nairobi. After that, I followed the story. The story wrote itself.

I can edit into infinity. It's such a joy. I'd probably edit until the last word. Until there's only one word left.