"Censorship cannot eliminate evil.It can only kill freedom."
Excerpt from a letter to 28 newspapers, signed by Ed Morrow, president, American Booksellers Assn. and Harry Hoffman, president, Walden Book Co., Inc. (1990)
"Held during the last week of September since 1982," according to Wikipedia, "Banned Books Week not only encourages readers to examine challenged literary works, but also promotes intellectual freedom in libraries, schools, and bookstores. Its goal is "to teach the importance of our First Amendment rights and the power of literature, and to draw attention to the danger that exists when restraints are imposed on the availability of information in a free society.""
Whether a war waged over objectionable words and phrases, or opposition to the of presentation of challenging political or sociological concepts, the pen is proven mightier than the sword in the contempt some have for the strength of the written word. Censorship of reading materials is an on-going crusade to keep age-inappropriate material out of youngsters hands, immoral ideas away from easily-influenced minds, and deplorable descriptions far from delicate sensibilities-- but at what cost?
When I was in elementary school, I graduated quickly from tepid one-note series like The Babysitters Club to the heavy-petting and perilous adventures in Sweet Valley High. While I wasn't yet tackling the classics on a regular basis for recreational reading, in middle school I made the jump to Stephen King, Anne Rice and more serious-- and seriously fucked up-- material. I was in fifth grade when I checked out the drug and sex-laden cautionary tale Go Ask Alice from the local library. I'm embarrassed to tell you how long it scared me into staying straight laced. (Yeah, it was that-- not the acne, awkwardness, or the stack of books I carried about--that kept me from being cool.) I was 11 when I spent the summer reading Stephen King's thick phobia-inducing horrorgasm, It. It wasn't just that these novels were more mature, they also had more fascinating plot lines and more advanced emotions and moral dilemmas than some of the insipid material that was age-appropriate for me at the time. They also offered better dialog and an enriched vocabulary, an adult one. My parents and grandparents knew what I read, often borrowing from their collections, and decided I could handle it. Eyebrows raised at the library when certain titles were borrowed, but nothing was ever pulled from my curious clutches. I reveled in reading what I wanted and it shaped me into an adult with life-long love of communication and storytelling that carries into not only an appreciation of books, but also theatre, music, film and many aspects of culture.
Taking away graphic comic books, politically-charged fiction, pieces with violent vignettes, drug abuse, or a collection of curse words, does a disservice not only to us impertinent sorts who wander outside of recommended reading but also to the authors and great minds who create these works to shock the senses and stimulate imaginations.
Casandra Armour
H
Eleanor Brown
1984 is a long-time favorite of mine, but I also recently reread Grapes of Wrath and it's amazing. Although I'm glad I was able to read them, I don't think my life would have been any less rich without American Psycho or The Da Vinci Code. I voted for 1984, because I think it's an essential text to inform a historical and theoretical understanding of totalitarian government, and because it inspired my love of horror, science fiction and dystopia.