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

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.

I hate admitting that my enemies have a point.

I hate admitting that my enemies have a point.

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;...

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...

Our lives teach us who we are.

Our lives teach us who we are.

When thought becomes excessively painful, action is the finest remedy.

When thought becomes excessively painful, action is the finest remedy.

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.

The idea of the sacred is quite simply one of the most conservative notions in...

The idea of the sacred is quite simply one of the most conservative notions in...

A book is a version of the world. If you do not like it, ignore...

A book is a version of the world. If you do not like it, ignore...

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...

One of the extraordinary things about human events is that the unthinkable becomes thinkable.

One of the extraordinary things about human events is that the unthinkable becomes thinkable.

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.

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...

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,...

The real risks for any artist are taken in pushing the work to the limits...

The real risks for any artist are taken in pushing the work to the limits...

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.

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...

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...