Salman Rushdie visits Emory for opening of archive

Novelist Salman Rushdie was at Emory University this week for the official opening of his literary archive.

Rushdie, who is in the middle of a five-year stint as a distinguished lecturer at the Atlanta university, has donated his personal papers to Emory's special collections library. The university has created an exhibit from the manuscripts, letters and photographs that will run through September.While on campus, the India native will teach classes, give lectures and work with faculty.

"The opening of the archive is a landmark event for scholars and the public," said Richard E. Luce, vice provost and director of Emory University Libraries.

Rushdie, 62, was forced into hiding in England for a decade because the Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran issued a 1989 fatwa, or religious edict, ordering Muslims to kill the author, saying his book, The Satanic Verses, insulted Islam. The Iranian government declared in 1998 that it would not support the fatwa but could not rescind it.

Full report here AP