Rushdie has lived in hiding since 1989, when the Iranian government's death sentence forced him to go underground.

Last September, Iran announced publicly that while it could not revoke the death sentence, it would make no efforts to have it executed. A private foundation in Iran still maintains a $2.5 million price on Rushdie's head.

Rushdie is the author of seven novels, including Midnight's Children, which won the 1981 Booker Prize, England's most prestigious literary award and is widely considered his finest work. It was also named the "Booker of Bookers"--the best single book in the prize's 25-year history.

Rushdie's affable personality and rapier wit had the audience breaking up with laughter throughout the evening.

One audience member asked Rushdie whether he had reconsidered judgements he made as co-editor of an anthology of Indian fiction in light of critical response.

"You're asking if I changed my mind because people disagreed with me?" Rushdie said. "You may have heard that a lot of people disagreed with me once before."

"His arrogance, attitude and charm were all mixed in with his sense of humor," Caroline Stanculescu '00 said. "It was very refreshing."