Sir Salman Rushdie, renowned novelist and essayist, will speak on Wednesday, April 17, at 7:30 p.m. in Macky Auditorium. Doors for the event will open at 6:30 p.m. CU-Boulder’s student run Distinguished Speakers Board is sponsoring the event.
Community tickets will go on sale March 22 and student tickets will be available beginning April 1. The most up-to-date ticket information will be available on the Distinguished Speakers Board website, and the Macky website. CU-Boulder students can purchase tickets for $2 at the Distinguished Speakers Board table, located on the first floor of the UMC, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday. The public can purchase general community tickets for $15 online.
Rushdie's lecture titled, “Public Event, Private Lives: Literature and Politics in the Modern World” will delve into the major themes coursing through his writing, life and the world today: freedom of expression, religion, pop culture, current events at home and abroad, East-West relations, and the role of the artist to shape our understanding of the world. After the lecture, Rushdie will take part in a Q & A session with the audience.
“We could not be more excited about this upcoming event, and to add Sir Salman Rushdie to our list of distinguished speakers,” said Craig Massey, Chair of the Distinguished Speakers Board. “He is certain to inspire our community in discussing his life and past work.”
Rushdie’s various written works have won many of the world’s top literary prizes, including the prestigious Booker Prize for his book "Midnight’s Children." His other books include, "The Satanic Verses," "The Moor’s Last Sigh," "The Ground Beneath Her Feet," and "The Enchantress of Florence." His memoir, "Joseph Anton," was published in September 2012.
An eclectic writer and public intellectual, Rushdie also has published a heralded collection of essays, "Step Across the Line," written the children’s novels "Haroun and the Sea of Stories" and "Luka and the Fire of Life," and served for two years as president of the PEN American Center, the world’s oldest human rights organization.
The Distinguished Speakers Board is a student-run cost center of CU Student Government with the mission to bring the world’s greatest minds to the CU Boulder campus. For more information please visit http://CUdsb.org. For more information about the event contact the Distinguished Speakers Board at DSBchair@colorado.edu.
Photo courtesy of Beowulf Sheehan- PEN American Center