Novelist
Salman Rushdie
Notes from Evan Smith
"Hard to believe it's been seventeen years since Salman Rushdie had a bounty placed on his head more noteworthy than any in the history of the world -- but when you consider the chaos in the Middle East in early 2006 over the publication of a cartoon featuring another irreverent depiction of Muhammed, maybe it hasn't been that long after all.
Yes, the world has changed in remarkable ways since the Bombay-born novelist arrived on the scene more than a quarter century ago, though you'd be forgiven for thinking his career began in 1988 with The Satanic Verses. But back then we were talking radical Islam and the clear and present danger presented by the government of Iran, and today we're talking about the very same things. How strange it must be for Rushdie to turn on the news or open the papers and see the famously difficult chapter of his life play out over and over again.
Let the record show that the 59-year-old, whose fatwa was reaffirmed by Iran's spiritual leader just last year, continues to write novels with energy and exuberance, and to tour the country and the world as if nothing every happened. He is now the author of fourteen books -- the most recent of which, Shalimar the Clown, brought him to the Texas Book Festival, which is where we caught up with him. On the subject of his writing, of natural distasters that have befallen his native India, and, generally, on the state of the world, he's smart and witty and winning -- and fascinating to talk to, as you're about to see." - Evan Smith, Texas Monthly Talks, Broadcast 3.9.06
