Banned Books Week is quickly approaching–it’s only a week and change away. This year the observed week is September 26 – October 3, 2009.
BBW has always been an event near and dear to me, as a reader, as a writer, and as a teacher–heck, even as Blogger, now. Its tagline is, Celebrating the Freedom to Read, and, really, I can’t imagine something more important.
Intellectual freedom can exist only where two essential conditions are met: first, that all individuals have the right to hold any belief on any subject and to convey their ideas in any form they deem appropriate; and second, that society makes an equal commitment to the right of unrestricted access to information and ideas regardless of the communication medium used, the content of the work, and the viewpoints of both the author and receiver of information. Freedom to express oneself through a chosen mode of communication, including the Internet, becomes virtually meaningless if access to that information is not protected. Intellectual freedom implies a circle, and that circle is broken if either freedom of expression or access to ideas is stifled.
As an intern working on a literary magazine, I realize how critical it is that the freedom to publish exists, and appreciate it. So get ready, because next week SR will begin celebrating BBW and enjoying our freedom to continue to do what we do. And you’ll keep reading, we hope, not only because you want to, but also because you can.
American Library Association Official Website
Banned Books Week Official Website
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Nice post. Looking forward to some BBM-related events or readings around the Valley. Do you know of any?
We are sadly lacking in Banned Books Week events this year, it seems! Other than Chris Crutcher’s lecture on September 28 at Chandler-Gilbert Community College (at possible the most inconvenient time ever for non-college students and/or anyone with a regular job — 9:40AM!) (blogged about here: http://superstitionreview.wordpress.com/2009/09/14/local-event-chris-crutcher-at-chandler-gilbert-community-college/), we haven’t got a ton slated. Not that that’s something to shrug at, though, since he’s constantly been on the list of the most-challenged books for young adults since the late 80s. I’ll definitely be blogging about the lecture for those who can’t make it, and possibly live-tweeting depending what the venue is like.
I remember BBW used to, at the very least, warrant a large display in Phoenix Public Libraries, but checking their website they don’t even mention it. It’s kind of sad. I don’t want to blame the economy for just one more thing, but… Well, if it’s not funding, I really don’t want to think of what else it could be — genuine disinterest, from the library systems in preserving the right to read, as well as not acknowledging librarians’ hard work keeping books merely challenged rather than banned? — because that’s just uncomfortable territory.
Either way, I think it’s important the public celebrate it, because if we don’t it’ll just be a step closed to losing a liberty to apathy.
Oh, but in the anti-censorship realm, there is a non-book tie-in that week: a couple free showings of A Clockwork Orange. Not the book itself, but it’s still fighting for freedoms.
http://madcaptheaters.com/events/viewevent.aspx?eid=57
Sorry for the second post — I was just made aware of it by a Facebook follower who commented on this blog post over there.
As a librarian, I would like to say that one nice way to appreciate Banned Books Week would be to collect money and earmark it as a gift to purchase a book on the list of proposed banned books. You can find the list on the american library association (ala) website.
Keep reading!
Thanks for the article on banned books week.
I was really interested to read this post, and as weird as this sounds, I especially appreciated the poster for Banned Books; it explained the way I feel so well. Additionally I loved the design!