The archive of celebrated author and Emory University Distinguished Writer in Residence Salman Rushdie will open to the public for the first time on Friday, Feb. 26, in Emory’s Robert W. Woodruff Library. A multi-media exhibition, “A World Mapped by Stories: The Salman Rushdie Archive,” will be on display in the Library’s Schatten Gallery from Feb. 26-Sept. 26, 2010.

As part of the opening celebration, Emory will host a symposium with Rushdie, author Christopher Hitchens and filmmaker Deepa Mehta titled, “The Only Subject is Love: Imagining Better Worlds,” from 1-3:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26 in Emory’s Schwartz Center. Rushdie, Hitchens and Mehta will discuss how the imagination helps to address the global challenges of our times. More information on the symposium and other events will be available in coming weeks at http://www.emory.edu/rushdie.

“The opening of the archive is a landmark event for scholars and the public,” says Richard E. Luce, vice provost and director of Emory University Libraries. “The Rushdie archive signifies two major trends of our time: the globalization of arts and letters, and the digital world in which contemporary writers and artists, such as Mr. Rushdie, are now composing their masterpieces.”

“Rushdie is a major figure of world literature,” notes Robert Paul, dean of Emory College. “The scope of Rushdie’s work, and his readership, are global to an extent that compels us to expand our notion of writers as speaking for a specific geography or people. Rushdie’s writing weaves together mythology, pop culture, politics and religions from Asia to the Americas to epic effect.”

The archive, including Rushdie’s manuscripts, drawings, journals, letters, photographs and digital materials, along with the exhibition, reflects the author’s global vision and registers a virtual who’s who of Rushdie’s interaction with some of the world’s leading figures and artists.