2023
May
19
Friday

Monitor Daily Podcast

May 19, 2023
Error loading media: File could not be played
 
00:0000:0000:00
00:00
Linda Feldmann
Washington Bureau Chief

Salman Rushdie’s surprise appearance at last night’s PEN America Literary Gala – a celebration of free expression – ended a week of controversy on a high note.

It was the author’s first public appearance since he was attacked and gravely wounded last August at a literary festival in western New York.

“It’s nice to be back,” said Mr. Rushdie, who has faced death threats since the 1988 publication of his novel “The Satanic Verses,” deemed by Iran’s ayatollahs to be blasphemous toward Islam.

A clash over free speech had earlier marred PEN America’s World Voices Festival, when two Ukrainian authors threatened not to appear after learning that two Russian writers were participating in a different panel. The Russians oppose President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine and had left their country shortly after last year’s invasion, but the Ukrainians – both active-duty soldiers – stood firm. PEN canceled the panel that included Russians.

Acclaimed Russian émigré journalist Masha Gessen quit as vice president of the PEN America board over the episode. Suzanne Nossel, the organization’s CEO, called it “a no-win situation.”

To Americans who care deeply about Ukraine while also seeking to defend Russians who have nothing to do with the war or outright oppose it, the PEN America situation is exasperating.

“The relentless zero-sum approach is just awful,” says an analyst with long experience in the post-Soviet world, speaking not for attribution. “Don’t these folks realize they are on the same side? Literally no one involved in this whole dispute supports Putin or his war, so what are they fighting about?”

The sensitivities are understandable. Russia’s invasion isn’t just territorial; it’s also cultural. Many Ukrainians now have a deep aversion to all things Russian – language, literature, performing arts. Anti-Russian sentiment has also gripped the West, leading to the cancellation of performances by Russian artists.

The Ukrainian writer-soldiers said that they faced legal and ethical restrictions that prevented their participation, and that they weren’t “boycotting.” But the end result was the same: a curtailing of speech by PEN America, ironic for an organization founded to defend free expression.

For Mr. Rushdie, recipient of an award for courage, the gala was an opportunity to stand up to the tyranny of his foes. “Terror must not terrorize us. Violence must not deter us,” he said. “The struggle goes on.”

Ukrainians and anti-war Russians can also take heart in his message.


You've read 3 of 3 free articles. Subscribe to continue.

Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

Susan Walsh/Reuters
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden are welcomed by Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and his wife Kishida Yuko at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, Japan, May 19, 2023.
Özge Sebzeci/Special to The Christian Science Monitor
Soydan Çetin (left) discusses the Turkish elections results with Suat Baycik in Istanbul. The two men are on opposite sides, but they had a civil political discussion and agreed to disagree.
Brendan McDermid/Reuters
A man attends Jordan Neely's funeral wearing a commemorative picture of Mr. Neely. Mr. Neely’s death has been ruled a homicide by the city's medical examiner after former U.S. Marine Daniel Penny put Mr. Neely in a chokehold for 15 minutes.

Podcast

‘There’s an open-heartedness’: Out front, greeting a better world

The Power of Porches

Error loading media: File could not be played
 
00:0000:0000:00
00:00
Karen Norris/Staff

The Monitor's View


A Christian Science Perspective

About this feature

Viewfinder

Eugene Hoshiko/AP
Japanese police officers patrol on May 17, 2023, near the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, or Genbaku Dome. The Group of Seven nations are meeting May 17-19 in Hiroshima, Japan. The dome was the only structure left standing in the area where the United States dropped the first atomic bomb on Aug. 6, 1945. It now is part of Hiroshima Peace Park.

A look ahead

Thank you for joining us. Please come back Monday, when Ann Scott Tyson will report on how China’s young urbanites are responding to 20% unemployment.

Also, here’s a bonus read, on Malcolm X Day: Although the Muslim leader and Martin Luther King Jr. often are seen as rivals, columnist Ken Makin looks at a mutuality between the two of them.

More issues

2023
May
19
Friday
CSM logo

Why is Christian Science in our name?

Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The Christian Science Church, and we’ve always been transparent about that.

The Church publishes the Monitor because it sees good journalism as vital to progress in the world. Since 1908, we’ve aimed “to injure no man, but to bless all mankind,” as our founder, Mary Baker Eddy, put it.

Here, you’ll find award-winning journalism not driven by commercial influences – a news organization that takes seriously its mission to uplift the world by seeking solutions and finding reasons for credible hope.

Explore values journalism About us