“Originality is dangerous. It challenges, questions, overturns assumptions, unsettles moral codes, disrespects sacred cows or other such entities. It can be shocking, or ugly, or, to use the catch-all term so beloved of the tabloid press, controversial. And if we believe in liberty, if we want the air we breathe to remain plentiful and breathable, this is the art whose right to exist we must not only defend, but celebrate. Art is not entertainment. At its very best, it’s a revolution.” —Salman Rushdie, “On Censorship”
Famed author Salman Rushdie, who has endured death threats from extremists for decades, was stabbed Friday before a scheduled lecture in western New York, according to state police.
A man stormed the stage at the Chautauqua Institution, about 70 miles south of Buffalo, at about 11 a.m. Friday August 12/22 and attacked the 75-year-old Rushdie and an interviewer.
Mr. Rushdie was taken by helicopter to a local hospital, the state police said in a statement. His condition is not yet known. His agent, Andrew Wylie, said in an email Friday afternoon that Mr. Rushdie was undergoing surgery.
