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

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,...

I do not need the idea of God to explain the world I live in.

I do not need the idea of God to explain the world I live in.

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

Writers and politicians are natural rivals. Both groups try to make the world in their...

Writers and politicians are natural rivals. Both groups try to make the world in their...

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...

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

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

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 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;...

Our lives teach us who we are.

Our lives teach us who we are.

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

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

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

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

When thought becomes excessively painful, action is the finest remedy

When thought becomes excessively painful, action is the finest remedy

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...

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...

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.

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.

Such is the miraculous nature of the future of exiles: what is first uttered in...

Such is the miraculous nature of the future of exiles: what is first uttered in...

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...

Be sure that you go to the author to get at his meaning, not to...

Be sure that you go to the author to get at his meaning, not to...

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;...