The New Indian Express ·
Salman Rushdie will receive a National Book Award medal for lifetime achievement
NEW YORK: Salman Rushdie, a U.S. citizen for the past decade, is to receive a literary honor reserved for the elite of American writers — a National Book Award medal for lifetime achievement.
“Although I lived here for many, many years before I became a citizen and had a green card, citizenship suddenly made me feel a sense of being part of it (the U.S.) that was deeper than before. And I think there's something similar about this (award),” said the 79-year-old Rushdie, a native of Mumbai (then Bombay) who emigrated to England in his teens and now lives in New York City with his wife and fellow author, Rachel Eliza Griffiths.
“I remember somebody told me that when Ray(mond) Carver got some major American award, he described himself as being ‘out there in literature now.’ And I thought, ‘Maybe I’m out there in American literature now,'” Rushdie added, speaking during a recent Zoom interview.
