he British-American writer of Indian origin Salman Rushdiewhich was stabbed In 2022, during a conference he delivered in New York State, in which he defended Barcelona “which”There is nothing inevitable“The constant in history is change and the current dark times will pass.”
Author of the book The satanic verses (1988) conducted an interview in the Catalan capital, which he visited to participate in Metafuturo conferences.organized by the Atresmedia communications group.
Rushdie, even admitting that May sound “foolishly optimistic”He recalls one of his teachings as a student of history, where he learned that in this social science “nothing is inevitable, nothing is written in stone, and what is precisely constant in history is change.”
From this hypothesis, think about it now “We live in somewhat dark times for sure,” But there is no indication that it has to continue this way, but rather because of constant change, better times will come and perhaps there will be a better future.
He says that when he was on a book tour knifein which he explains the near-fatal assassination attempt he suffered in 2022, has been able to verify in several countries, such as Germany or France, that “Young people are being radicalized towards the far rightIn the United Kingdom, a demonstration was recently held in which 150,000 people participated against immigration.
In his opinion “It is disturbing that young people are like thisIt is foolishly optimistic to think it could be otherwise, but things have changed in the past and will change again.
Regarding the contribution of literature to alleviating this situation, Rushdie admitted that it is always difficult for him to claim what literature can or cannot do: “I don’t know how much literature can make our world better.But first of all, it can generate pleasure in people who read it, and then contribute beauty and help the world understand itself better, which is already a lot.
Because of the way he spoke, he was attacked in New York in 2022, when He received several stab wounds and wounds His optimism about life for an American striker of Lebanese origin did not diminish. He added: “I am alive and well here, and that in itself is a good thing.”
He added: “Literature is a time-consuming exercise.intense intellectual energy because you have to spend a lot of time working on it every day, and if we had to start from desperation, it would be completely impossible to concentrate on writing. Despair is the enemy of art.”
In response to a question about the impact of artificial intelligence, Rushdie stressed that he is not very concerned, because “AI won’t do anything innovative.” But it will produce texts that will be nothing more than “literary plagiarism.”
Rushdie has just published his first work of fiction in the UK after the attack in 2022 Leaving him blind in one eye.
It’s about to Eleven o’clock (“eleventh hour”), A book of five stories, with three novellas and two short storieswhich is expected to be published next year in Spain in Spanish and Catalan.
The film’s events take place in three parts of the world (India, England, and the United States) where Rushdie lived. The work has a common theme, which is “looking at the end of life” and deals with what happens “in that final act, that final moment, which some people face with calm, resignation, or anger.”
At his desk he starts a new book, barely mentioning that it will be “fiction” and that he hopes it will be a “novel.”