Interview with Cynthia Sterling: The only person to do an indoor reading of The Satanic Verses in the United States

1. Describe what it was like when you read The Satanic Verses.

I hosted the first and only indoor reading of the book, The Satanic Verses. In September of 1988, shortly after the publication of The Satanic Verses, all hell broke loose in the literary world. Certain Muslim factions were offended, because they felt that the novel vilified their religion and culture. The meaning of novels is to stir debates and rational discussion. This particular book went right pass the rational and took a sharp turn to violence. The book was banned in many Muslim countries, and U.S. bookstores received bomb threats if they carried the book. Those threats seemed very real and were taken very seriously. Iranian religious leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini sentenced the author, Salman Rushdie, to death. At this point, Rushdie was forced into hiding. I had just started my publishing company when all of this went down, and I was nothing more than a publishing infant. I remember thinking to myself, what kind of future do I have as publisher if I don’t make a stand? Banning books? Not in my world. Freedom of expression is a cornerstone for me; it is something I strongly defend, with the caveat that you don’t defame someone then try to hide behind our First Amendment. I remember a quote I believe Rushdie gave to Time Magazine, “The book that is worth killing people and burning flags for is not the book that I wrote.” I agreed with that. The book was simply a well-written piece of magical realism that shows the struggle between good and evil. It is also an example of Rushdie’s comic sense and satire. That being said and with the help of Megan Davidson, then Editor-In-Chief for SterlingHouse Publisher, we put together the first and only indoor reading of The Satanic Verses which was broadcast on radio. At the time, I didn’t fully understand the situation; I thought I was making a statement against banning books and threatening author’s lives with death. Needless to say, what I did caused a bit of an uproar in Pittsburgh. The police found out about the reading, surrounded the building and even placed a few undercover cops in the audience. It was a very tense situation, and the expression “the air was so thick you could cut it with a knife,” suddenly became very understandable to me. Before the reading, an attendee hung a heavy coat on a plastic hanger in the closet next to the room where the reading was taking place. Half way through the presentation, the hanger snapped, sounding like a gunshot. Everyone hit the floor, including the police. Instead of seeing it as a comic interlude once we knew the coast was clear, it only raised the tension in the room. After the reading, a death threat was left on the answering machine at SterlingHouse Publisher, and the morning newspaper headlines got me in trouble with the local Muslims. I met with local Muslims and talked things over. It all worked out wonderfully well, and we all just blamed the press for the high tension.

2. Did family and friends discourage you from doing so, for your own safety?

Did my family try to dissuade me? No. Were they worried? Yes. They were more worried for me than I was for myself. I think they had a deeper insight into the situation. Like I said, my focus was very narrow.

3. Do you feel that since your reading of The Satanic Verses the world has opened up and moved forward? The family wasn’t deported, but on the other hand it’s a shame that some government’s still feel the need to ban books. Is this story a sign of human’s moving forward or taking a step back?

Governments, churches, libraries, schools and local organizations have been banning books since there were books to ban, and most likely this will continue as long as there are books to read. Not too long ago, a local school attempted to ban The Catcher in the Rye for goodness sakes! Before books, if you said something that wasn’t the party line you risked getting your tongue cut off. Like it or not, we are a global society. There is a free-flow of information and ideas that just wasn’t there in 1988. Its getting harder to limit people’s thoughts and choices and since we are such a global society, the image that a country portrays is increasingly more important. Good for the Iranian court system for their ruling. Remember, though, that it takes a very brave family to have the book in the first place. Is the world going forward or backward? Hey, I’m just happy it’s going. Did I mention that Rushdie is lucky to be alive? The Japanese translator was murdered and the Italian translator was stabbed.

Iranian Family wins reprieve after allegedly housing The Satanic Verses