Students at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School are busy finishing their finals and making their preparations for graduation. The university wide graduation ceremony will begin on the morning of Monday May 11. At this year’s ceremony, students will be treated to the historically controversial writer Sir Salman Rushdie.
Rushdie is considered by many to be the greatest writer of our time. His style, which combines magical realism with historically informed fiction, has gained him praise from critics. His book, The Satanic Verses– which lead to many assassination attempts against Rushdie– made him a household name for many.
Rushdie was named Distinguished Writer in Residence in the Department of English at Emory in 2006. During this time he placed his archive in the university’s Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Book Library and wrote his 2012 memoir, “Joseph Anton: a Memoir.” He also engaged the community, students and faculty through public talks, classroom lectures and faculty forums.
“Emory is fortunate to be increasingly recognized for its eminent creative writing program and its robust collection of the papers of distinguished literary artists, which in addition to Salman Rushdie include Seamus Heaney, Flannery O’Connor, Alice Walker and many others,” President James Wagner said. “Having Professor Rushdie deliver the keynote address at commencement as he concludes his visiting appointment on the faculty will be a significant celebration of this literary legacy at Emory as well as Sir Salman’s own contributions to modern literature.”