Who is Rachel Eliza Griffiths? Salman Rushdie praises his wife for helping him recover from stabbing incident

British-American novelist Salman Rushdie was stabbed multiple times while preparing for a lecture in New York in August 2022. Months later, he has now praised his wife, Rachel Eliza Griffiths, and children Zafar and Milan for helping him recover.

On February 6, The New Yorker published an interview with the 75-year-old personality, in which he credited his poet and novelist wife for helping him recover physically and mentally.

The Midnight's Children author said that Griffiths has been dealing with nurses and doctors aiding him, along with police authorities to try to bring him justice.

He said:

“She kind of took over at a point when I was helpless. She just took over everything, as well as having the emotional burden of my almost being killed.”

Salman Rushdie said his major injuries had "healed, essentially," and that he regained sensation in his affected hand after undergoing several rounds of therapy.

He continued:

“I’m able to walk around. I mean, there are bits of my body that need constant checkups. It was a colossal attack. I’ve been better. But, considering what happened, I’m not so bad.”

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Salman Rushdie's wife Rachel Eliza Griffiths is a poet, novelist, and multi-media artist

Born in 1978, Rachel Eliza Griffiths is a native of Washington D.C., US. By profession, she is a poet, novelist, and multi-media artist.

She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College with a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing. Griffiths is also a recipient of several fellowships, including the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center, Cave Canem Foundation, Millay Colony, Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, Kimbilio, and the Vermont Studio Center.

Rachel is well-known for her lyrical videos, fine art photography, and literary portraits. In 2011, Griffiths was featured in the first issue of Oprah’s O Magazine which is dedicated to poetry. Four years later, she was selected to curate the Poetry Walk by the Poetry Society of America.

Her work was also included in the relaunch of The L Word on Showtime called Generation Q.

As an author, Griffiths's notable works include Miracle Arrhythmia, The Requited Distance, Mule & Pear, and Lighting the Shadow.

Moreover, her literary work and visual art have been featured in The Paris Review, The New York Times, The Progressive, Poets & Writers, Los Angeles Review of Books, The Writer’s Chronicle, Indiana Review, Callaloo, American Poet, BOMB! Magazine, Black Nature: Four Centuries of African American Nature Poetry, and more.

As per her website, Rachel Eliza Griffiths was chosen as the 2020 Stella Adler Poet-in-Residence. She is also the image director for Castor and Patience, composed by Gregory Spears and written by Tracy K, which premiered in July 2022 at the Cincinnati Opera House.

As for Salman Rushdie, the author was brutally stabbed on August 12, 2022, in the neck and torso while he was on stage at the Chautauqua Institution in New York. He was conducting a lecture about the country giving asylum to banished writers when the attack took place.

Salman Rushdie was hospitalized for six weeks and lost vision in one of his eyes. He also lost sensation in his hand after the stabbing.