Overview
- Speaking at the Metafuturo forum on Nov. 21, Salman Rushdie said he has never regretted publishing The Satanic Verses and is proud the novel continues to be read.
- He described his memoir Cuchillo (Knife) as a way to process the 2022 attack in New York and to begin reclaiming normal life.
- He warned that writers are increasingly targeted and said authoritarian governments are alarmed by unrestrained speech.
- He accused President Donald Trump of turning the Republican Party into a cult and criticized his unpredictability and its global effects, including on conflicts abroad.
- He said censorship pressure today often comes from the right, cautioned that some young authors self-censor, and argued that generative AI lacks originality.