“I have tried my best to keep my country alive by writing about it.”
— Nuruddin Farah · 1945 –Source: Interview with Jeffrey Brown, PBS NewsHour, February 27, 2007 · Check the source
Verified attributionWhat we know
- What is documented
- The sentence is spoken by Nuruddin Farah in the PBS NewsHour interview conducted by Jeffrey Brown on February 27, 2007.
- What remains uncertain
- Farah refers to an earlier phrasing of the same mission from his youth; the original appearance of that earlier wording is not established by available evidence.
Understanding the quote
Farah frames writing as cultural preservation: a way to keep a nation's memory alive when institutions and public narratives collapse. He expressed this in a televised interview, saying his mission was to keep his country alive by writing about it. The line is attested in the 2007 PBS interview.
The story behind it
Practical tools shaped his career: Farah largely wrote in English because that was the language available on the typewriter he used, helping his work reach an international audience.
Going further
- The era
- In 2007, amid Somalia’s prolonged collapse and conflict, Farah discussed literature as a means to preserve national memory.
- The thinking
- Committed literature in practice: authors document injustice and lived reality so readers cannot ignore abuses; it’s writing with moral and civic purpose.
- Key word
- Literary witness: writing that preserves a people’s history and experience.
Three challenges to live it
In the app, you pick the one that fits your day, and in the evening you say how it went.
Write for 20 minutes about a place, tradition, or person from your country that might be forgotten; explain why it matters.
Farah frames writing as cultural preservation. Composing a concrete portrait helps keep memory alive and makes endangered stories visible.
Reach out today to a relative or elder and record 10 minutes of oral history about a national or family memory at risk of being lost.
Farah emphasizes keeping a country alive through stories. Gathering an oral account shares memory and safeguards it outside official institutions.
Make today an image, collage, or short poster symbolizing an endangered aspect of your country; share it with a 2–3 sentence caption.
Farah treats art and writing as ways to keep a nation alive. Turning memory into a visual form engages emotions and makes preservation visible and shareable.
How can your stories help preserve a moment, place, or community that might otherwise be forgotten?
Report an error
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