Followers, friends, authors and intellectuals gathered this Friday in front of the New York Public Library to pay tribute to the writer Salman Rushdie, who was stabbed in the neck and abdomen a week ago while giving a lecture in that city.
Journalist Gay Talese, novelist Jeffrey Eugenides and writer Kiran Desai were among the personalities who read Rushdie's books as they called for justice for the incident.
"Today we will celebrate Salman for what he has endured, but more importantly, for what he has spawned: the stories, the characters, the metaphors and the images he has given the world," Suzanne Nossel, PEN Director General, said at the meeting. International Club, a worldwide association of writers.
A group of writers and supporters gather in solidarity with Salman Rushdie outside the New York Public Library, Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, in New York.Yuki Iwamura/AP
Nossel added that Rushdie was aware of the event and even gave suggestions as to which of his writings should be read.
[Iran denies being behind the attack on Salman Rushdie and blames the writer directly]
Salman Rushdie, threatened with death by the Iranian regime in the eighties after the publication of his novel
The Satanic Verses
in 1988. The writing was considered blasphemous by many Muslims, who saw in a character an insult to the Prophet Mohammed, among other things. objections.
The writer Salman Rushdie is disconnected from the artificial respirator and can now speak
Aug. 14, 202200:32
The writer remained hidden for many years due to threats.
A week after the attack, his condition has evolved and he has been removed from the artificial respirator, according to his agent.
Friday's event came a day after a Mayville, New York, judge denied bail to Hadi Matar, 24, the stabbing suspect who has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and assault.
Matar was born a decade after the publication of
The Satanic Verses
.
With information from
The Associated Press