Banned Books Week: Read Like a Rebel
Banned Books Week is September 22nd through 28th this year!
One of the most fundamental freedoms is the freedom to learn, and libraries support that by making sure that we have a wide variety of books with various different ideas and viewpoints that are freely available to everyone, regardless of what's in them.
In their statement about book censorship, the American Library Association writes that libraries "are committed to defending the constitutional rights of all individuals, of all ages, to use the resources and services of libraries. We champion and defend the freedom to speak, the freedom to publish, and the freedom to read, as promised by the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States."
Nevertheless, many books have been banned - legally prevented from being held, sold, or read - almost since books were first invented. Sometimes book bans are enacted by governments that want to prevent their citizens from learning certain information, sometimes by religions that want to erase opposing viewpoints, or sometimes by organizations that disapprove of them. Some of the greatest classics of our time were once banned, or are still banned in other parts of the world!
Did you know that...
- Frank L. Baum's beloved childhood classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was banned in various states in the 1920s for "promoting occultism", "being untrue to life", and encouraging female emancipation?
- Jack London's The Call of the Wild, the story of a man fighting to survive in the harsh Arctic climate of northern Canada, was banned in Italy and Yugoslavia for being "anti-government" with its strong message of individualism and struggle to choose your own destiny?
- George Orwell's classic Animal Farm, an allegory using animals to discuss the abuses and downfall of Stalinism, was banned in the United States for being "too pro-Communist" - and also banned in the Soviet Union for being "too anti-Communist"?
- Lewis Carroll's charming novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was banned in the 1960s for "promoting drug use" with its use of imagery that could be interpreted as psychedelic?
- Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan of the Apes was banned in the 1960s as well, this time for depicting Tarzan and Jane as being romantic partners who were never married?
- The Diary of Anne Frank, an important account of a young Jewish girl's life during the height of Nazi occupation in 1940s Germany, was banned for being "too depressing"?
- Chaucer's classic of English literature, The Canterbury Tales, was banned in the United States over four hundred years after it was first written for being "obscene" due to its depiction of comedic tales including adultery and unmarried relationships, and it was illegal to even send a copy through the mail?
And many, many more! Book bannings still go on today, especially in libraries in countries with oppressive governments, or even in schools.
So what can you do? Read, read read! Try something that was once banned and form your own thoughts and opinions on it, or learn more about the history of a classic and what politics surrounded it when it first came out. Not sure where to start? Try our Banned Books Week collection spotlights, or visit a Librarian to ask for recommendations. You can also visit Unite Against Books Bans, a national effort to ensure that every American has the freedom to read and learn what they choose.
As always... keep reading!
