Welcome to the Wednesday edition of the Coffee Hour at Street Prophets. This is an open thread where we can discuss what’s happening in our lives, what we’ve been working on, and our opinions on current events. Today’s question: What’s your favorite banned book?
I was doing some research recently at a university library when I noticed a sculpture project entitled “Banned Challenged Censored” (photos below). According to the brochure which accompanied the sculpture:
“Those who feel threatened by ideas different from their own will attempt to ban material from our libraries, public schools, and retail stores.”
I went to high school during the 1950s when the heavy hand of censorship prevailed: there was to be no mention of Charles Darwin or Evolution; the works of John Steinbeck and W. Somerset Maugham were not to be ready; and William Shakespeare was mentioned only in a highly modified form. Needless to say, I read most of the stuff that I wasn’t supposed to. Then I turned in a book review of a novel called Peyton Place and once again was in trouble.
Then I went to college where the college printers (not the academic faculty) frequently censored the school newspaper, blacking out sections and sometimes refusing to print an entire issue. The administration, of course, supported the printers’ rights over those of the students.
Then I spent a bit more than a decade in public broadcasting. The issue of censorship came up frequently with arguments that “little old ladies in tennis shoes” would be offended by the material and therefore the station shouldn’t air it. When I pointed out material that “big Chicanos in combat boots” would find offensive, my comments would be shrugged off as the “token militant” at it again. It was okay to air racist and sexist material.
Okay, enough out of me. What’s your favorite banned book? Fools Crow, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, and Our Bodies/Ourselves are just a few that come quickly to mind.
This is an open thread. If you are new to the Coffee Hour open threads, feel free to introduce yourself.