So, once again, grad school gets between me and the blogosphere. But I couldn't let Banned Books Week end without putting my two cents in. In case you weren't already aware, this past week was Banned Books Week, a week set aside by the American Library Association to celebrate our freedom to read and highlight the continued presence of censorship in our world. My first encounters with Banned Books Week were in high school when I helped create the library programming surrounding it. So now, every year in September, I go to the ALA website to check out their newly published lists of banned or challenged books and think. I think about how passionately I feel about intellectual freedom and freedom of information access. And I think about how complicated and complex the situation surrounding each challenge or attempted banning can be. And I think about way great books can be denied to readers because of misunderstanding or fear.
But let's get the basics taking care of first. What's a challenged book and what's a banned book? The ALA website states that a challenge is "an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based on the objections of a person or group." A book becomes banned if the challenge succeeds in getting it pulled from the shelves or from the curriculum. Thanks to the work of teachers, librarians, parents, students, and other passionate people, most challenges never become bannings.
The ALA notes that most books are challenged or banned for a few major reasons. The material is usually thought to be "sexually explicit," to contain "offensive language," or be "unsuited to any age group." Most often, people challenge books out of a wish to protect their children or minors in general from materials they deem inappropriate or dangerous. While I understand the urge to protect children (and I really do!), there are lines that our First Amendment just won't let us cross. While a parent has the complete right to control what his or her own child reads, he or she does not have the right to control what other people's children can read.
So, every year across the country, teachers and librarians work with students, parents, and others to stand up for our First Amendment rights--and the rights of children and youth to access information. Learn more about how you can get involved and check out the lists of recently or most challenged and banned books today at the ALA's website. I am proud to say that I read banned books and so here are just a few of my favorites:
His Dark Materials (series) by Phillip Pullman
In The Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Bridge to Terebithia by Katherine Paterson
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Forever by Judy Blume
The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson
So even though Banned Books Week is over, the fight to protect the freedom to read and to think is never over. Go read a banned book today! Research how else you can get involved in advocating for this issue!
So while I was browsing around Twitter today to get some updates on the Speak Loudly campaign, I stumbled upon some really awesome posts, including this one by Natalie of Mindful Musings-a blog I am new to but already liking a lot. She has helpfully posted a bunch of posts and giveaways that have sprung up as a result of the challenge to Laurie Halse Anderson's book SPEAK, which I mentioned in my last post. So I wanted to acknowledge her generosity in creating such a post and highlight some of the giveaways I'm most excited about.
Mindful Musings is giving away a copy of either Slaughterhouse 5, SPEAK, or Twenty Boy Summer.
Carol's Prints is giving away Banned Books Week themed prizes including an awesome Banned Book bracelet, 2 copies of SPEAK, and a pre-order of the new novel The Mockingbirds by YA debut author Daisy Whitney.
Sarah Ockler, author of another book mentioned in the Scroggins article Twenty Boy Summer is giving away a Wesley Scroggins Filthy Book Prize Pack, which includes Slaughterhouse 5, SPEAK, and Twenty Boy Summer.
Mundie Moms is giving away copies of SPEAK, Burned by Ellen Hopkins, Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler, and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.
There are many, many more great posts and giveaways. Check out the post on Mindful Musings linked above to see more! Keep Speaking Loudly, friends!
So I'd planned to write up and post another book review today but that's just going to have to wait. Instead I'm going to use my meagre free time to put in my two cents on the news story that is setting the book blogosphere on fire. In case you might not have heard, here's the overview. On Sunday, the wonderful author (and blogger) Laurie Halse Anderson posted on her blog about a college professor named Wesley Scroggins in Missouri who wrote an opinion piece for the local newspaper in which he described her book SPEAK
as inappropriate for students to read, classifying it as soft core pornography--primarily, it seems, because the novel contains two rape scenes. Anderson has called for support because she is concerned that this man's complete mischaracterization of the book might lead to it being pulled from the school curriculum. The feedback from teens that Anderson has received over the years since SPEAK was first published has illustrated that this book can change kids' lives in the best of ways and she would rather the students of the Republic School District not be denied that opportunity.
Now, so many other bloggers have already posted on this topic. See the bottom of this post for a list of just a few! And they all have been so eloquent and powerful. So, I'm going to try and avoid total repetition but it will be hard because I agree so wholeheartedly with these smart people.
My gut reaction to these events was total disgust and outrage for two reasons. First, I become somewhat volatile and upset at most mentions of people attempting to control what other people read, especially via banning or, in this case, inaccurate badmouthing of a text. If a parent wishes to restrict his or her child's reading, then fine--until that child is 18, that's your prerogative. But I believe in intellectual freedom and the First Amendment, my friends. So I do not think that a single person has the right to prevent other people (and teenagers are people) from reading whatever material they wish to read. Second, I have read SPEAK. It was required reading my freshman year of high school. Now, I am a geek who actually enjoyed most books required for school, even the 'old ones.' But SPEAK was different. Reading SPEAK was and is one of the most powerful experiences with a story of my life. If you have never read SPEAK and do not wish to be spoiled, look away now!
SPEAK tells the story of Melinda, a freshman who is beginning high school as a social outcast after calling the cops at a party during the summer. What no one at school (or at home) knows is that Melinda called the cops because a popular senior boy raped her that night. But afterwards, she became so traumatized and paralyzed by fear and confusion that she essentially stopped speaking altogether. The novel follows Melinda's slow and difficult path to finding her voice again and finally speaking out and standing up for herself.
SPOILERS OVER! It is safe again!
I have been very lucky; I personally have never experienced trauma like Melinda. But I felt very voiceless in high school; as a shy and bookish teen, I felt alternatively invisible in and glaringly misfit for the social world of high school. SPEAK captures those feelings of powerlessness and of fear that every young person feels at one point in his or her life. Moreover, although I have been lucky, I have friends who have not been as lucky. I have been there in the aftermath of sexual assault and so I am even more furious and disturbed that Mr. Scroggins feels that rape could be equated with pornography, which is defined by its intent to titillate and provoke sexual pleasure. I have been involved in V-Day activities for the past several years. I have heard the stories from girls (and guys) at Take Back the Night events. Silence is the enemy in the fight against sexual violence and assault. SPEAK is a text that is fighting that fight; it is a novel that tells all kids who feel silenced or afraid, for whatever reason, to find their voices and speak up. What censorship and ignorant fear-mongering like Mr. Scroggins' article does is tell those kids to quiet down. To shut up because their voices do not matter. I personally find that attitude to be far more immoral than honest and emotionally powerful literature for teens.
If you would like to get involved, check out Laurie's original post. She lists several ways to show your support, including writing letters and utilizing online networks such as Twitter. Also, check out these other, far better blog posts on the topic.
The Story Siren
Liz B. at School Library Journal
Good Books and Wine
Myra McEntire
A.S. King
GreenBeanTeenQueen
Sarah Ockler, whose novel Twenty Boy Summer is also condemned in the article and now is also under threat in MO, has posted on the subject.
There are many, many more awesome posts out there. I've just mentioned a few here-go look around for yourself and check them out!
So, please, join us in SPEAKING LOUDLY for this wonderful book, this brave author, and every kid who feels alone and unheard. Banned Books Week is September 25th through October 2nd. This year's tagline is "Think for Yourself and Let Others Do the Same." This message seems more important than ever right now. So let's celebrate our freedom to read and SPEAK out!
