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Banned Books Week - From ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ to Ellen Hopkins and a Manifesto for the Freedom of Information

Submitted by Charlie Thomason on Fri, 09/25/2009 - 13:09
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Banned Books Week Read-out logo

“Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.”
-To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

These are famous words from what is considered to be one of the greatest novels of all time. Yet, Harper Lee’s great story of racial injustice in a small Southern town has been repeatedly banned across the country for its use of racial slurs and adult themes. All next week, the American Library Association hopes to remind you that no book should ever be taken out of your hands.

Banned Books Week (Sept. 26 – Oct. 3, 2009) celebrates books that have been rejected or shunned by parts of society as harmful, rather than informative or enlightening. It is also a time when everyone is encouraged to pick up a controversial or challenged book from their library, as well as give thanks to the freedoms given to us by the First Amendment.

Last year, ALA reported 513 challenges to books; for more information check out Banned Books Week.

A recent story in The Guardian calls to mind how some have sought to limit these freedoms, yet with unexpected consequences. When a Middle School in Norman, Oklahoma, cancelled a visit by bestselling author Ellen Hopkins, due to the drug content and potentially “anti-religious” themes of her novels, the furious author wrote a poem in response.

The poem, entitled “Manifesto”, has now been adopted as the centerpiece for this year’s Banned Books Week celebration. The last stanza of the poem reads:

“A word to the unwise.
Torch every book.
Char every page.
Burn every word to ash.
Ideas are incombustible.
And therein lies your real fear.”
-Click here to read the full poem.

For all of our Chicago readers, the Banned Books Week Read-Out! festivities kick off tomorrow (Sept. 26) at noon in historic Bughouse Square (otherwise known as Washington Square Park. The event is FREE and will feature appearances by six authors of the Top Ten Most Challenged Books of 2008:

  • Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
    Authors of the children’s story And Tango Makes Three, a book that has topped the list of banned and challenged books for three straight years due to its “anti-family” and “pro-homosexuality” messages.

  • Lauren Myracle
    TTYL is third on the list of frequently challenged and banned books and is part of the hugely popular Internet Girls series. Click here to see one of Lauren’s presentations on reading, writing, and freedom of information.

  • Stephen Chbosky
    Author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen returns for a second year to the Read-Out! Festival. His immensely popular book is often challenged for references to sex, drugs, and suicide.

  • Cecily von Ziegesar
    Before there was a “Gossip Girl” television series, Cecily’s novels of the same name were regularly challenged for offensive language and sexual content, as well as being supposedly unfit for its target age group.

  • Sarah S. Brannan
    This is Sarah’s first year in the challenged or banned books Top Ten list. Her children’s book Uncle Bobby’s Wedding tells the story of a same-sex marriage between two guinea pigs.

    • There are also events going on all across the country throughout next week. Click here for a full list of Banned Books Week events.

    Do you have a favorite book that you know has been controversial in some way? Leave us a comment here, or contact us on either Twitter of Facebook.