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Showing posts from November, 2015

Salman Rushdie/Crisis hotline reunion

This Saturday the Chicago Humanities festival hosted Salman Rushdie. He won this year's Chicago Tribune Literary Award . Rushdie was interviewed by Bruce Dold of the Chicago Tribune .  His new book is titled Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Days , a reference to the story Scheherazade , the name of a woman who had to tell stories for 1001 nights or she would be killed.  Rushdie explained that his father, Anis, changed his last name a long time ago to the name of a 12th century philosopher because he admired his progressive views.  Ironically that philosopher pissed off the powers that were. I used to think his name sounded like he was in a rush to die. Rushdie also talked about the years he had to travel under heavy security. In 1989 the Ayatollah Khomeini issued a Fatwa condemning Rushdie for writings deemed anti-Muslim. He talked about how he was once going to be picked up in New York by a long motorcade and stretch bulletproof limo. He thought that this just d...