ANN ARBOR—Internationally acclaimed author Salman Rushdie will appear at the University of Michigan March 11-12, in conjunction with the U.S. premiere of the stage adaptation of his epic novel, “Midnight’s Children.” The play will run from March 13 to 15 at the Power Center on the U-M campus. Rushdie will participate in a series of public events about global politics, his literary work and his first work of drama.

“What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist,” argues Rushdie, a prize-winning novelist also known as a courageous spokesman for artistic freedoms against religious absolutism.

“Midnight’s Children” tells the life story of Saleem Sinai, from his birth in Bombay at midnight on to the year 1978. Midnight’s Children is not simply Saleem’s story, but a record of India’s coming of age, from its gifted infancy to its troubled adulthood.

The events are all being held at U-M’s Rackham Auditorium, 915 E. Washington St., Ann Arbor. They include:

· March 11, 7 p.m.: “The Political Rushdie.” Rushdie will be interviewed by Ashutosh Varshney, associate professor of political science and director of the Center for South Asian Studies, in a discussion of Indian politics, history, and the production of “Midnight’s Children.”

· March 12, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m: “The Literary Rushdie.” Gauri Viswanathan, professor of English and comparative literature at Columbia University, leads a public conversation with and reading by Salman Rushdie.

· 1:30-4:30 p.m.: International Syposium: “Reflections on the World of Salman Rushdie” focuses on topics from Rushdie’s writings including South Asia, Rushdie and the Indian Diaspora, Rushdie and Pakistan, Middle Eastern Muslims and the impact of Rushdie’s works on Indian and Pakistani writers of his generation. He will be joined by moderator Daniel Herwitz, U-M Professor of Humanities and Director of the Institute for the Humanities; U-M Professor of History Juan Cole; Ashutosh Varshney, U-M Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for South Asian Studies; Johns Hopkins Political Science Professor Sunil Khilnani; Shashi Tharoor, Under Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information for the United Nations; Sara Suleri Goodyear, a Yale University Professor of English; and Husain Haqqani, visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

The Royal Shakespeare Company residency is presented in association with The University Musical Society and the University of Michigan and is sponsored in part by: the Ford Motor Co. Fund, and Pfizer, and educational activities are presented with support from the Whitney Fund.

Related links:

After the Fatwa, Playwriting and Party going (NY Times article 03/09/03)

Royal Shakespeare Company: Michigan Residency