“Let a hundred languages contend and a hundred flowers will bloom.”

Kenyan author Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s moving speech at The Sunday Times Literary Awards in which he speaks about the resilience of literature and the necessity of keeping less-popular languages alive is now available online. (Here’s our handy guide to pronouncing the author’s name, in case you were too embarrassed to ask.)

is an intern for The Millions. He is currently studying English and Russian at Columbia University.