Salman Rushdie on why we need stories to understand ourselves

"We need stories. We need stories to understand ourselves.

“We are the only creature that does this unusual thing of telling each other stories in order to try and understand the kind of creature that we are."

- Salman Rushdie, from this trailer for his Masterclass on Storytelling and Writing.

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He has emphasized the power of writing for countering "false narratives."

In her article for PEN, Suzanne Trimel noted:

"The Booker Prize-winning author, whose novels have been translated into 40 languages, was PEN America’s president from 2004-06 and over the years since, has continued to be a tireless defender of free speech and free expression in his public appearances and writings.

"During the Emergency Congress of Writers, he said:

“A poem will not stop a bullet, a novel cannot defuse a bomb. But we are not helpless …

“We must work to overturn the false narratives of tyrants, populists, and fools, by telling better stories than they do – stories in which people might actually want to live.”

From Salman Rushdie’s New Novel Turns a Spotlight On the Enduring Power of Stories By Suzanne Trimel, PEN America January 31, 2023.

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