Banned Books: 20th Greats

Banned Books : 

Banned Books Greatest Hits of the 20th Century Leslie Albert: Access to Information 2009

What is a banned book? : 

What is a banned book? According to the ALA… A material that has been removed from a collection based upon the objections of a person or group that has “challenged” the material. Family values, religion, political views, minority rights Victims of CENSORSHIP! “The removal, suppression, or restricted circulation of literary, artistic, or educational materials — of images, ideas, and information — on the grounds that these are morally or otherwise objectionable in light of standards applied by the censor.” (ALA) Public libraries and school libraries

Land of the Free? : 

Land of the Free? Banned books aren’t a new thing, it’s an issue as old as the printing press… First Amendment states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” However…

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There once was a guy named Comstock… “Suppression of Vice”—1872 “Morals, not art and literature” 120 tons of printed work confiscated in 40 years ! 1923-1925: “Clean Books” Crusade This silliness continued in to the twentieth century, marring authors like Steinbeck, Joyce, Hemingway, Fitzgerald…all classics! That’s enough books to equal a BLUE WHALE!

Phew! Now we can read anything… : 

Phew! Now we can read anything… Comstock Laws ended in 1933 (Ulysses and the Nazis) Still hundreds of books were challenged and many banned! For example… “Between 1990 and 2000, there were 6,364 challenges reported to or recorded by the Office for Intellectual Freedom.” (PFWA) “Research suggests that for each challenge reported there are as many as four or five which go unreported.” (ALA) And between 1995 and 2008 there were 7,470 challenges! YIKES! I thought cultural repression was a thing of the past!

The Top Five : 

The Top Five How do you chose from so many classics? Lawrence, Blume, Huxley, King, Angelou, Morrison, Golding, Atwood, Walker, Vonnegut, Lee…just to name a few! So why these five? Influence Political, Religious, Sexual, Children’s Most talked about/well-known Books everyone should experience, not just because they are banned, but because they are CLASSICS! (And I had to limit myself for my wiki!)

The Grapes of Wrath : 

The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck Viking Press 1939

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The story of the Joad family during the depression and drought years of the 1930’s. The family’s journey westward “compared to the biblical exodus.” Won Pulitzer Prize 1940 and Steinbeck won Nobel Prize in 1962 Originally banned in California for “obscenity” and false/low portrayal of migrant workers “Collectivist communist propaganda” (Foerstel) “Indecency, obscenity, abhorrence of the portrayal of women and for ‘portraying life in such a bestial way.’” (Karolides) Burned in St. Louis! Kern Co, CA; Herman, NY; Kanawha, IA; Vernon, NY; Buncombe, NC; Richford, VT; Anniston, AL; Greenville, SC At the same time, it was becoming a best seller…

Influence for the rest… : 

Influence for the rest… “In 1939 in response to widespread challenges to John Steinbeck’s new novel, The Grapes of Wrath, the American Library Association (ALA) developed The Library Bill of Rights. The document as it is written today states, “Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.” (http://www.privatepress.org/pdfs/BannedBooks.pdf)

1984 : 

1984 George Orwell Secker and Warburg 1949

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The dystopian novel about Winston Smith, a citizen of Oceania who lives on “Airstrip One” formally known as Great Britain. Everyone is ruled by “Big Brother” and Winston wants to rebel…but will he be able to beat the system? John Burch Society: “study of communism” Jackson County, FL 1981: "pro-communist and contained explicit sexual matter.” (ALA) Textbook battles--1960’s Texas: obscenity and political ideas (Karolides) “Immorality and profanity” Ironic banning because actually a warning about totalitarianism. (Time)

Catcher in the Rye : 

Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salinger Little, Brown and Co. 1951

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The coming of age story of Holden Caulfield, detailing a very brief episode of his life as he “confronts crisis in his own life by escaping into the disordered and chaotic adult world” in flashback form (Karolides). Most frequently banned book between 1966 and 1975 “Favorite target of censors” (ALA) “Profanity,” “communistic,” anti-white,” “obscene,” “explicitly pornographic,” filled with language that “promoted premarital sex, homosexuality, and perversion” (Karolides) Challenged EVERY YEAR Still being banned today as a “filthy, filthy book” (ALA)

The Satanic Verses : 

The Satanic Verses Salman Rushdie Penguin Books 1988

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This novel of magic realism “describes a battle between God and the devil through the depiction of two men who go through fantastical journeys.” (50 Banned Books) Unique place in Banned Book history: “In 1989 Iran’s leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, condemned the book for blasphemy against Islam and issued an edict calling for its author’s execution.” Rushdie was forced into hiding for nearly a decade. Riots, death threats, imprisonment, execution… “Banned in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Somalia, Sudan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Quatar, Indonesia, South Africa, and India because of its criticism of Islam. Burned in West Yorkshire, England (1989) and temporarily withdrawn from two bookstores on the advice of police who took threats to staff and property seriously. In Pakistan five people died in riots against the book. Another man died a day later in Kashmir. Ayatollah Khomeni issued a fatwa or religions edict, stating, "I inform the proud Muslim people of the world that the author of the Satanic Verses, which is against Islam, the prophet, and the Koran, and all those involved in its publication who were aware of its content, have been sentenced to death.” (ALA)

Harry Potter and the… : 

Harry Potter and the… J.K Rowling 1997-2007 J.K Rowling Bloomsbury 1997-2007

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In seven sequential novels, British boy Harry Potter attends the magical school of witchcraft and wizardry called Hogwarts. His main enemy is Lord Voldemort who he fights in six of the seven novels. American Christians object to the magic and wizardry that the novels are based upon “And while I'm on the subject, let me say something about Harry Potter. Warlocks are the enemies of God! And I don't care what kind of hero they are, they're an enemy of God and had it been in the Old Testament, Harry Potter would have been put to death! …You don't make heroes out of warlocks!” (Becky Fischer, “Jesus Camp”) Books almost burned in Lewiston, ME 2001 for “promoting violence, witchcraft and devil worship” (Time) “Ban Harry Potter or face more school shootings” (Daily Mail) Top today’s current list of banned materials

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“Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.” —Article 3, Library Bill of Rights Suggested Reading: Purity in Print by Paul S. Boyer Banned in the U.S.A. by Herbert N. Foertstel 100 Banned Books: Censorship Histories of World Literature by Nicholas J. Karolides, Margarent Bald & Dawn B. Sova Library in a Book: Censorship by Gail B. Riley