"The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter." —Mark Twain
Reviews of subversive literature
“Teachers won’t be able to model those skills if our schools and courts continue to muzzle them. But the same democratic imperative also demands that teachers responsibly restrict what they say, just as other professionals do.” That’s from a New York Times op-ed by Jonathan Zimmerman. Does it sound like he’s saying teachers need to […]
What’s interesting about the conceptual sculpture in the photo is that it was made of books that had been banned by Argentina’s recently-overthrown junta. The sculpture stood in a downtown Buenos Aires square for three weeks, after which the public was invited to dismantle it … and keep the books. How cool is that? More […]
I’ve mentioned prison book restrictions and bannings in previous roundups. The last such item I covered was a South Carolina jail’s policy of banning all books other than the Bible. The ACLU is now challenging that policy on behalf of an inmate. Reading is a civil liberty? Damn right it is! Here’s a related article […]
What better way to start a banned book news roundup than with the American Library Association’s 2010 Most Frequently Challenged Books List? Here are the top ten: 1. And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson 2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie 3. Brave New World, by […]
Here’s an interesting and timely article on how collective bargaining can protect the free speech rights of public employees; specifically, librarians and teachers. I knew there was a reason why we’re supposed to keep quiet in the library! Remember those Texas prison wardens who were not allowing inmates to read certain books and magazines? Looks […]
Here’s an excellent summary of the growing power of organized book-banning groups. The internet helps us, but it helps them too! I usually limit these book-banning digests to news to from North America, but this article on international book-banning is too interesting not to share. The Perks of Being a Wallflower has been challenged again, […]
A small victory in Florida. Another victory in Montana. Yet another victory in Wisconsin. But the book-banners never stop trying. Parents in Richland, Washington, review books on high school reading lists by counting swear words, ignoring literary merit. Click on Book Index, scroll down, and click on their review of A Prayer for Owen Meany […]
The lead story: But really, why not bowdlerize Twain? Christians read a truncated version of the bible. Southerners have their own version of Civil War history. Schoolkids in Texas learn about an America that never was. What else is new? So . . . on to more banned book news! I asked once before whether […]