Lecture host says his concern is for Salman Rushdie and ‘what he means in the world’
Author Salman Rushdie talks about the start of his writing career, during the Mississippi Book Festival, in Jackson, Miss., on Aug. 18, 2018. Picture: AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File
The moderator of the event during which Salman Rushdie was attacked onstage said his concern is for the writer “himself, but also what he means in the world”.
Henry Reese said the incident in New York highlighted more than ever the values that Mr Rushdie stands for.
The author, 75, suffered severe, life-changing injuries after being stabbed several times ahead of a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution, in New York, on Friday.
Asked how he was doing after the incident, Mr Reese told the BBC: “I’m doing well, everything is proceeding – I’m doing quite well.
“I think our concern is for Salman, and I mean that for himself, but also what he means in the world.
Asked what the incident meant for the importance of Mr Rushdie’s values, Mr Reese added: “There couldn’t be anything more vivid in its materialisation of our values.
“Our mission is to protect writers who are in sanctuary and to see Salman Rushdie assaulted for his life is unimaginably… it’s hard to describe what it is to see that happen in front of you.”
Mr Reese, who sustained severe bruising himself during the incident, said it would be “my ideal” to one day return to the venue and continue the conversation with Mr Rushdie.
“That would be my ideal to do that, and to see that happen and to not be in any way impeded in doing what we set out to do,” he said.
“To both show that these values will be defended and that they can be defended.”
Despite his “life-changing” injuries Mr Rushdie has retained his “usual feisty and defiant sense of humour”, his family has said.
The author suffered a damaged liver and severed nerves in an arm and an eye but was taken off a ventilator on Saturday.
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