My Philadelphia Weekly colleague Steven Wells has succumbed to cancer. His final column is here. I met him only once, when I stopped by PW’s offices and chatted about my “A-list” pitch on a Kimmel Center speaking engagement by Salman Rushdie. “So, what’s your take on Rushdie?” he asked, and before I could form two sentences, Steven gave me his own take, in that combative British style. “He’s a dreadful writer. But fuck those people who say it’s his fault for writing that book.” Though I disagreed about the first part, I knew then that I liked Steven. He had good liberal instincts and a memorably acerbic pen. My condolences to the PW staff, which has lost a hugely important figure within the ranks.
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