To the editor:

Salman Rushdie gave a remarkably personal, intelligent, perceptive, humorous and educated presentation at the Lied Center last week, but the Journal-World headlines concerning the talk are misleading enough to make a reader attribute them to bad journalism or even to think that they are an attack on Mr. Rushdie and his views.

As for “Famed author takes on Kansas,” Mr. Rushdie did no such thing. Rather, he began by contrasting the gray Kansas of “The Wizard of Oz” to the bright and varied actuality he encountered here. But he did also satirize those people in Kansas (also criticized in earlier Journal-World articles) who are attempting to introduce religion in the guise of “intelligent design” as science. He did not “take on Kansas.”

As to your larger headline, “Rushdie bemoans role of religion in public life,” your writer needs the help of a thesaurus or usage guide. “Bemoans” has the smack of at least 100 years ago; today it is not a neutral word, but mocks the “bemoaner.” Writing a news story, not an editorial, you might have used a more accurate verb such as “attacks” or “deplores.”

I do hope that in this case your headlines are simply the result of bad writing.

Haskell Springer,

Lawrence