If it hasn’t yet become apparent, we here at the Free For All have many opinions about books, banned books, and the attempt to ban books, many of which have been aired, and many of which are still in the cupboard. But this is the first year that Banned Books Week has officially become international. This year in the UK, the British Library, the Free Word Centre and Islington council in London are joining forces to promote banned books, sponsoring discussions, and publishing a reading list of some 40 books that have been subjected to calls for censorship, ranging from the Harry Potter series to Toni Morrison’s Beloved. To go along with this, The Guardian has posted a whole plethora of articles on their website regarding books, how dangerous they are, and what a good thing that can be. One of my favorite quotes in this regard comes from Melvin Burgess, who is a keynote speaker in the British Library’s programming, and also the author of Junk (published in the US as Smack), which has been challenged numerous times, and was banned in 2002 in Texas. According to him:
It’s always flattering that people think your book might be dangerous, because it creates an air of glamour around it. Of course, it isn’t dangerous at all. The usual criticism is that young people might read it and turn to drugs themselves, but in fact, all the evidence shows that it has helped people navigate their way through that world, not tempted them into it. Like most “dangerous” books, it is in fact only a threat to people who are themselves dangerous – people who want to control others. If you want to decide what’s right and what’s wrong, to be obeyed, then any book that assumes people can make up their own minds is dangerous – but only to yourself and your little clique.
The point about novels – good novels, anyway – is that help you understand other people, with all their faults and shortcomings. The people who are scared of understanding are the dangerous ones.
Meanwhile, as the Telegraph reports from Hong Kong, a pro-democracy group began selling books that have been banned in mainland China for being ‘politically sensitive’ at last winter’s outdoor lunar new year market, with the hopes of highlighting the plight of five local booksellers currently held by Chinese police. Though not part of Banned Books Week officially, the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China is still taking a stand in support of free access to information, and for the physical freedom of the writers who produce that information.
Finally, much closer to home, our friends in Canada actually have their own version of Banned Books Week, which is called “Freedom to Read Week“, and is held the last week in February (in 2017, it will be February 26-March 7). Like in the US, this week is organized by y the Freedom of Expression Committee of the Book and Periodical Council, and invites Canadians “to think about and reaffirm their commitment to intellectual freedom, which is guaranteed them under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.” This past year, a number of Canadian “Booktubers” were brought together to talk about what Freedom to Read means to them–take a look!
http://youtu.be/aNe7DSM0L00
You can also check out the list of “12 Canadian Books That Have Been Challenged“, which includes Margaret Atwood’s classic The Handmaid’s Tale, and Alice Munro’s The Lives of Girls and Women.
What does all this mean?
Well, to indulge in a wee bit of pessimism, it shows that book challenging, and banning, is not a strictly American tradition–just a few months ago, Irish Central reported that there are currently 274 books and 266 magazines still banned in Ireland. But it also shows us that, all around the world, there are people who are willing to stand up to censure and censorship and fear, and to celebrate ‘dangerous books’, and the people who write them–and the people who read them, too! And we are proud to be among that number here. Feel free to join us. The world could use more dangerous people of this sort.