More Readings in Solidarity with Salman
Last Friday, PEN America held a beautiful event1 on the steps of the New York Public Library, where writers, artists, editors, and other assorted friends and allies of Salman Rushdie read from his work in solidarity with him after the attack on him by a fanatical Muslim the week before.
I wish I could’ve been there to watch in person, but I followed the event via live stream, and beforehand, I took up the call of PEN to record some readings at home. So, although I’ve already read a lot of Rushdie for this Substack, including on the day of the attack, I felt that this week’s reading should come, once again, from my favourite writer. (On the day of the attack, incidentally, I wrote this piece for OnlySky—it’s a raw, deeply personal reaction to the stabbing, and I’m relieved beyond words that Salman has, indeed, pulled through.)
And so I share with you the Twitter live stream I recorded on Friday to go along with PEN’s event, featuring readings from a couple of Rushdie’s nonfiction pieces as well as The Satanic Verses.
"Against the riot of hatred and cruelty and rage that had been conjured into existence by a verminous religious fanatic, this very manner of expression seemed an antidote: a humanist love plainly expressed against those whose love was only for death." - Christopher Hitchens on Susan Sontag’s solidarity with Rushdie. The New York Public Library event reminded me (and struck me as) a reaffirmation of this sentiment. (From his memoir, Hitch-22.)