Banned Books
Today I learned that this is the week in which the American Library Association promotes "Banned Book Week"; at their website they conveniently provide a Suggested Activities and Action Guide, chock full of ideas.
The same person# also pointed out the article "The American banned list reveals a society with seious hang-ups", by Ben MacIntyre in The Times [Online] of 24 September 2005 , a graceful rumination on the topic — and guaranteed ultimate failure — of censorship. Mr. MacIntyre listed some of the silly recent attempts at censorship in America, including
… perhaps the most remarkable act of censorious foolishness came a few years ago when four members of the Alabama State Textbook Committee called for the rejection of Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl on the basis that it was “a real downer”.
and then made me laugh aloud with his summary statement:
The American list of opposed books reveals a society still struggling with major hang-ups about sex, race, religion and Holocaust victims who are insufficiently jolly.*
Anyway, Monday night around here is usually library night, since that's what I do more often than not while Isaac is directing handbell rehearsals. So, I had this in mind when heading off to my local, small branch of our county's memorial library system. Without thinking too much about it, I rather presumed that my backwater branch library had probably not even heard of "Banned Book Week", so I was mightily surprised — and impressed! — when I went in and saw "Banned Book Week" posters, and a banner on a table of "Challenged Books".
That was so cool! And I exlaimed as such to all my favorite volunteer librarians who, I suspect, think that I'm basically a flake anyway. However, they seemed pleased by my pleasure at seeing their celebration.
On the table there were two informative lists along with the books. One list was the "Top 10 Challenged Authors of Color", the other was "Top 10 Challenged Books". Many of the books were familiar to me, even if I hadn't read them all, and few surprised me much that they had provoked some narrow-minded people to attack them.
However, I was shocked to see that Maya Angelou was on the list of challenged authors of color, and that I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was one of the top challenged books. "How could this be," I was proclaiming rather too loudly, "this is one of the best books I ever read!"
I guess I'm not surprised that someone (or lots of someones) in some school district (or lots of school districts) somewhere should object to her compelling, poetic about being poor and black in the Alabama of her youth. But such a book it is! I can't think of anyone who wouldn't profit from reading it.
So there: I guess I'm doing my part for Banned Book Week by telling everyone I can to go read Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. You'll be glad you did.
—–
#There it is. Turns out it was Michael Schaub, "Banned Books Week: Saving Waldo and Terabithia from the Radical Right", The Huffington Post, 26 September 2005.
*That was funny enough, but I was further amused when, after a paragraph discussing how censorship is always doomed to failure, he wrote
But ’twas ever thus. In the 1930s Senator Smoot of Utah launched an anti-pornography campaign to the delight of Ogden Nash:
Senator Smoot (Republican, Ut.)
Is planning a ban on smut
Oh rooti-ti-toot for Smoot of Ut.
And his reverent occiput.
Smite. Smoot, smite for Ut.,
Grit your molars and do your dut.,
Gird up your l–ns, Smite h-p and th-gh,
We’ll all be Kansas
By and By.