A poet's work is to name the unnameable, to point at frauds, to take sides, start arguments, shape the world, and stop it going to sleep.

Quote by Salman Rushdie

Topics: Salman Rushdie Quotes

If I were asked for a one-sentence sound bite on religion, I would say I...

If I were asked for a one-sentence sound bite on religion, I would say I...

What one writer can make in the solitude of one room is something no power...

What one writer can make in the solitude of one room is something no power...

Free speech is the whole thing, the whole ball game. Free speech is life itself.

Free speech is the whole thing, the whole ball game. Free speech is life itself.

Our lives are not what we deserve; they are, let us agree, in many ways...

Our lives are not what we deserve; they are, let us agree, in many ways...

Books choose their authors; the act of creation is not entirely a rational and conscious...

Books choose their authors; the act of creation is not entirely a rational and conscious...

When thought becomes excessively painful, action is the finest remedy

When thought becomes excessively painful, action is the finest remedy

What distinguishes a great artist from a weak one is first their sensibility and tenderness;...

What distinguishes a great artist from a weak one is first their sensibility and tenderness;...

The acceptance that all that is solid has melted into the air, that reality and...

The acceptance that all that is solid has melted into the air, that reality and...

What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist

What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist

Rock and roll music - the music of freedom frightens people and unleashes all manner...

Rock and roll music - the music of freedom frightens people and unleashes all manner...

If Woody Allen were a Muslim, he'd be dead by now.

If Woody Allen were a Muslim, he'd be dead by now.

Vertigo is the conflict between the fear of falling and the desire to fall.

Vertigo is the conflict between the fear of falling and the desire to fall.

Free speech is the whole thing, the whole ball game. Free speech is life itself.

Free speech is the whole thing, the whole ball game. Free speech is life itself.

Whores and writers, Mahound. We are the people you can't forgive.

Whores and writers, Mahound. We are the people you can't forgive.

Sometimes legends make reality, and become more useful than the facts.

Sometimes legends make reality, and become more useful than the facts.

Names, once they are in common use, quickly become mere sounds, their etymology being buried,...

Names, once they are in common use, quickly become mere sounds, their etymology being buried,...

Most of what matters in your life takes place in your absence.

Most of what matters in your life takes place in your absence.

I used to say, 'There is a God-shaped hole in me.' For a long time...

I used to say, 'There is a God-shaped hole in me.' For a long time...

Doubt, it seems to me, is the central condition of a human being in the...

Doubt, it seems to me, is the central condition of a human being in the...

What one writer can make in the solitude of one room is something no power...

What one writer can make in the solitude of one room is something no power...