In 1988 Salman Rushdie published "The Satanic Verses," unleashing a storm of condemnation & threats agains this life; without hesitation, fellow writers gave readings from the novel to support him. would that happen today? possibly instead sentiment would be hostile to Rushdie

for disrespecting a religion & "offending" many readers. we can see how profoundly contrary to the "free speech" ideal we have become. at Princeton, Toni Morrison, Russell Banks, & I gave a reading in support of Rushdie to which many came. today--who knows what would ensue?

though we do not wish to "offend" readers it is virtually impossible to avoid "offending" someone. all that the writer/poet can ask is that the offended person stop reading, turn the page, move on. is that so hard?
thinking of Michael Dickman's elegiac poem. #JustTurnThePage