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British writer Salman Rushdie. Photo/REUTERS
LONDON – British writer Salman Rushdie lashed out at publishers who tweak old books to protect modern readers from offending.
He argues that overly sensitive readers can always choose something else.
Rushdie addressed this issue Monday evening (15/5/2023) while accepting the prestigious British Book Award for Freedom to Publish.
In his televised acceptance speech, which he delivered via video link from New York, the writer sounded the alarm at what he perceived to be acceptance of growing censorship in Western countries.
In the United States, he said, he noted “an extraordinary attack on libraries and books for children in schools, an attack on the very idea of the library itself.”
Conservative lawmakers in several US states have sought to remove from school libraries books they deem inappropriate for minors, because they depict sexual relations and other adult content.
“I have to say it’s also worrying to see publishers looking, how should I put this, robbing the work of people like Roald Dahl and Ian Flemming,” said Rushdie.
“I have to say the idea that James Bond could be made politically correct is almost comical,” he said.
Books by both authors have been censored in their new editions to remove language deemed offensive.
