You Can’t Read That! is a periodic post featuring banned book reviews and news roundups.
“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie will stay part of the ninth-grade English curriculum in Sauk Prairie, Wisconsin.
Schlump: The tragic story behind a forgotten masterpiece, a fascinating bit of history about one of many books banned in Nazi Germany, lost but now rediscovered.
This Canadian op-ed, Why I Love Schools that Ban Books, is exactly what it seems, a screed against schools teaching anything conservatives disapprove of.
Did you know HBO is producing a screenplay of Ray Bradbury’s classic (and often banned) Fahrenheit 451? Also on the horizon: a Disney movie adaptation of another banned classic, Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time.
For two weeks in July, a judge presided over a trial to determine whether Arizona’s law banning Mexican-American studies classes in public schools is legal or not. As of today, 19 August, he has not ruled. MAS courses remain illegal and the books banned from Tucson classrooms in 2012 remain banned. If you’re squishy on whether schools ought to offer ethnic studies programs, maybe reading this will explain why they’re more than easy-A gut classes, and how, if the Arizona judge rules on the side of white supremacy, similar bans will quickly come to your state, and yours.
Somewhat forgotten: the House Un-American Activities Committee-inspired book burnings of the 1950s. If this is merely of historical interest, why is my spidey sense tingling?
Activists in Cuba say North Korea, like their own country, is fighting a losing battle against censorship. I, for one, wouldn’t mind seeing this battle draw to a quick conclusion.
Here at home, looks like our activists are busy too. Only ours are scientists, taking pre-emptive action by leaking an alarming climate report before the current administration orders it suppressed.
Why do schools set up review committees to rule on books challenged by parents if principals and administers are going to overturn their recommendations and ban the books anyway?
Look, if TSA “suggests” checking books and other printed material in passengers’ carry-on bags, why is anyone surprised when TSA agents take it as a rule? You know this is headed in a bad direction. How do we stop it?
From time immemorial, bluenoses have combed through books, counting swear words. It remains one of the primary tactics of book banners today.