People who ban books make me sad/confused/angry/anxious/nervous/speechless/cry.
Some of the most important books in my life are on the banned books list.A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'engle was banned because of the dangerous ideas about an adversary who would take away choice in order to save everyone. There are angels in the book. They talk about God in that book. I LOVE that book.
Censorship is not okay. I am conservative. I believe in God. I am a teacher. Censorship is not okay. This is Banned Book Week folks. And censorship is rearing its ugly head. Laurie Halse Anderson is an amazing Young Adult Fiction (YAF) writer. She has written books about incredibly hard and scary things. She has written with such tenderness, tact, and compassion. Speak has been targeted, again. Speak has been around for ten years.It is taught in schools, read in book clubs, has receive multiple awards.
It is about rape.
It is not just about rape. Readers see themselves in Melinda. We become Melinda. Melinda lives inside her head because of what has happened to her. Until she speaks she can't heal. But speaking is so hard. This book sounds exactly like some conversations I have had in my own head. I was not raped. I was assaulted and it affected me in ways that I still am trying to comprehend. I was so afraid to speak, but I had to in order to protect myself and other women. SPEAK. This book has opened doors for conversations from boys and girls about rape and sexual abuse. It is not an easy book. But it is worth it. The uproar comes after an associate professor of management addressed the world as some kind of expert on fiction and said that because the book deals with rape it is soft porn. I hate pornography. Speak is not porn. Scroggins has a right to say what he thinks. That is what is great about America. But some people don't know what he is talking about and will believe him. Parents get worried and want to protect their kids. That is their right. Banning books is not right though. I know what is right and wrong because of a banned book. THE BIBLE.
This is intensely worrying to me. There are books that I hate. I think some of them are filth. There are books that I choose not to read. Banning is not the answer. I read banned books.
This is straight from Laurie's blog:
This guy thinks SPEAK is pornography
Remember last September, when the book banners crawled out of their pits of nastiness to try to remove YA literature from classrooms and libraries?
It is September again, my friends.
Wesley Scroggins is an associate professor of management at Missouri State University. He was also a speaker at Reclaiming Missouri for Christ, a recent seminar whose purpose was to “To educate our pastors, legislators, educators, students, and all citizens as to the truth about America’s Christian Heritage and the role of fundamental, Biblical Christianity in the establishment and function of our legal, legislative, and educational system, and to work towards the successful reestablishment of these values in our society.”
(Note: I love Jesus. My dad is a United Methodist minister. I point out Scroggins’ affiliation with this group so readers can understand his larger agenda.)
The fact that he sees rape as sexually exciting (pornographic) is disturbing, if not horrifying. It gets worse, if that’s possible, when he goes on to completely mischaracterize the book.
Some people say that I shouldn’t make a big deal about this. That I am giving him more attention than he deserves. But this guy lives about an hour and half from the school district that banned Sherman Alexie’s THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN this month.
My fear is that good-hearted people in Scroggins’ community will read his piece and believe what he says. And then they will complain to the school board. And then the book will be pulled and then all those kids who might have found truth and support in the book will be denied that. In addition, all the kids who have healthy emotional lives but who hate reading, will miss the chance to enjoy a book that might change their opinion.
All because some wingnut grabbed the opinion page of his newspaper, bellowed his lies, and no one challenged him.
I have already received incredible support on Facebook and in my inbox. Paul Hankins, an English teacher from Indiana, has started a Twitterfeed - #SpeakLoudly – where people can tweet their opinions. And my hero, Judy Blume, wrote to say she is bringing this nonsense to the attention of the National Council Against Censorship.
(I must confess – receiving a message from Judy Blume made me shriek a little. I am such a fangrrl of hers.)
I love the support from the blogosphere, but am concerned that the people in Scroggins’ community who might be swayed by his nonsense are not reading those blogs or following Twitter feeds on the topic. So I am writing to the school district superintendent and to the newspaper. But I know (because I’ve been here before) that my comments will likely be greeted with scepticism because I have a vested interest in the process.
I need your help.
Please share your experiences with SPEAK; your own response to the book, or the way you’ve seen it work in a school setting. Tahleen has already posted her thoughts on her blog. You can do the same. Please share links to your blog in Comments.
But then, please speak up to the people who can make a real difference in Republic, MO.
You can write to the superintendent of the Republic School District, Dr. Vern Minor, or to the high school principal, Daren Harris.
This is from Newberry Winner and YAF Guru Shannon Hale's Blog:
Speak loudly
Still pregnant! Sorry I didn't post yesterday. I guess I was taking a day of rest.
I am in no uncertain terms shocked and disgusted by a recent challenge to a young adult book. Sometimes with challenged books I can sort of see their point, even if I don't agree. This instance is just so wrong, I want to SPEAK up about it.
In an opinion piece in a Missouri newspaper, a university associate professor challenges three books read in local high school English classes. I haven't read the other two so won't chime in on those ones, but one of them is Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, a book I admire tremendously. It is gorgeously crafted, smart, and powerful. The most shocking part is he says it should "be classified as soft core pornography."
Oh my. Have we come to this? Will people really listen to this guy? An editor's note at the end of the article says that the other two books he mentioned have already been pulled or are under review. Let me clarify for those of you who haven't read Speak: it's about rape. A high school girl is raped. Rape, people. Pornography is "designed to stimulate sexual excitement." I am extremely sensitive to depictions of rape. I have turned off movies and put down books that even remotely crossed the line for me. Speak was not one of those. It's not graphic, it is definitely not designed to titillate. It is honest while being respectful. If someone reads that book and is stimulated by it, then they should SEE A THERAPIST.
This might be funny if it weren't so tragic and dangerous. This attitude is precisely what keeps girls silent when they should be speaking up, what makes them afraid of reporting rape, what lets perpetrators get away. Please, please don't confuse the issue. Rape is rape is rape. It is not sex. It is not sexy. It is violence. It is always wrong. Classifying this book as a kind of pornography is so insulting and damaging to survivors of rape. Ee gads. I'm so upset I'm contracting just thinking about it. Deep breaths, Mama.
As is so often the case, protests against books say more about the protester than the book. I'm keenly aware of this whenever I can't stand a book that others adore. What does that say about me? What am I expecting, hoping for? Reading is such great self-examination. I wonder if this professor will be conducting any self-examination. I wonder what he'll discover about himself. I wonder if he'll get help.
Veronica Roth had an interesting Christian response to this, as the book banner is a Christian, and also links to other blog posts if you're interested.
This is from Lena Roy's blog. She is the granddaughter of Madeleine L'engle and a YAF writer with a new book due out in December.
Dear Oprah: Speak out for SPEAK
Cover of SpeakI am writing to you again in the hopes that you will do something on your show to highlight BANNED BOOKS WEEK, next week starting September 25th.
This is a week that "librarians, teachers, and booksellers across the country use Banned Books Week each year 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."
Laurie Halse Anderson would make a wonderful guest. Her groundbreaking novel, SPEAK, has just been attacked by a professor in Missouri, calling it "soft pornography" because of two rape scenes. Anderson handles this issue with such heartbreaking sensitivity that I find the accusation absolutely ludicrous. The whole point of SPEAK is to encourage people to speak out when the "unspeakable" happens. Because it does happen.
What would happen if we didn't have books that explored and tackled the tough issues teens and kids face? What kind of world would we live in if we didn't have the freedom to read and make choices?
I thought that this book and topic might interest you in particular because of your open-ness and struggles with sexual abuse - losing your voice and then finding it.
Thank you for considering this.
Yours truly,
Léna Roy
Read a banned book. Think about censorship. Do something.
PS: My dearest friend is writing a book about sexual abuse. It is for Young Adults. I know she will have really made a difference when her book is on the Banned Book List.
