Banned Book Week

It's "Banned Book Week" from 9/25/04 until 10/2/04 so pick up a banned or challenged book! I found a great site titled "Surfing the Net with Kids" that includes a banned book week section. There are short summaries of some commonly challenged books for younger readers, along with reasons for the books' challenges or removals. You can also test your knowledge with the "Guess why these books were banned" at ACLU's 1998 Banned Books Week site. This one has a ton of links and also provides a form letter to help fight the banning of books in your local schools or libraries. I haven't had a chance to check all of the features out yet, but I will get back to you with some more feedback a little later.

Another great source of information is the ALA's website. The banned book section seems to be down right now, but I will post the specific link later.

Local Flavor

Sorry for another off-topic post. Check out "What is your malfunction?". At this point it is still kind of sketchy, but if its creator follows through, it may end up being a good source for information on the local music scene (or supposed lack thereof). I'm going to keep my eye on this blog for a while with the hope that I may find out more about local bands and some good, cheap (or free) venues to see them at.

Another blog about music is "Life in a Local Band". This one is a little more developed and paints a behind-the-scenes picture of what it's like to be in a band.

On a more serious note... I just checked out this blog about HIV. One of the posts mentions that a girl said to the author, "I actually heard that there might be students on campus that have HIV, is that true?" Considering that there are over 57,000 students at ASU, this question is extremely ignorant, especially coming from a college student. Before I read that comment, I would have guessed that most people living in the U.S. would know the facts about HIV, but I should have known better. I come from a family that values education for its own sake so I have a hard time understanding how people can be so ignorant.

CHECK THIS OUT: Pharmaceutical companies are working on developing a drug for HIV immunity. Some people, like Steve Crohn, are naturally immune to the virus and scientists are basing their experiments around CCR-5 mutations. This PBS site also includes a video clip. Another article talks about a study already testing a vacine.

John Steinbeck

One of my professors mentioned that John Steinbeck (check out the National John Steinbeck Center to find out more about him) used to have one of the biggest FBI files (now declassified). My ears perked up when I heard this because it REEKS of censorship. I haven't read "The FBI Files on John Steinbeck" yet, but I'm adding it to my list. In 2003, Steinbeck's short novel "Of Mice and Men" was the third most frequently challenged book. According to the BBC's page entitled "Why books get banned-- or-- Free people read freely", Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath":

"... has been one of the most vilified works since its publication in 1939. Burned at the St. Louis (Mo.) Public Library immediately after publication, it also was banned from the Buffalo (N.Y.) Public Library because of “vulgar words.” It was challenged in the Greenville (S.C.) schools because it used the names of God and Jesus “in a vain and profane manner” and was banned in Kern County (Calif.) where the story was set. It continues to be one of the most challenged books in schools and libraries. "

Uncensored

Check this out: File-sharing to bypass censorship. It's a wonderful vision of the future-- news unhindered by the censorship of major media conglomerates. Sounds to me like it's generally along the lines of blogging, but on an even larger, more accessible scale.

Censorship at School

I was walking to class today and for some reason I decided to pick up a copy of the State Press. The article that caught my eye is about an ASU sophomore who hung a U.S. flag with the words "Ban This" in protest against Residential Life's policy of not allowing dorm residents to display messages in their windows. Students have been putting messages and pictures in their dormroom windows ever since I can remember-- what could possibly be the harm?

Roaming the 'Net

I just found this wonderful site-- check out "The Censorship Pages." It has some links to articles, discussion boards, quotations, and online stores that primarily sell banned books. Here's an excerpt from the site:

As an example of a just banned book, David Guterson's acclaimed book Snow Falling on Cedars has been banned by the South Kitsap School District in Washington state as an inappropriate and obscene book. Why it was banned is much deeper, as the book is written about the racism and anti-Japanese persecution during and after WW II on the Kitsap Peninsula. The book was banned because Kitsap is still a right wing, racist stronghold and they wish to block any recognition of their bigoted past and present.

While I don't know anything about Kitsap, Washington and its reasons for banning this book from its schools, I do know that most censorship is motivated by fear. While Kitsap may have banned the book simply because it portrayed them in a negative light, they also could have banned it because the book touches on issues that may still exist in that area today. I haven't read "Snow Falling on Cedars," but I do remember my high school junior English teacher blacking out entire pages of the book with Magic Marker before letting any students read the book. I don't know about the rest of you, but it has definitely piqued my curiosity. It's on my contstantly growing list of books to read.

Some Random Blogs

Good morning to you all! I know we are all bright and chipper and looking forward to yet another week full of deadlines and not enough sleep. And yet we still manage to fit in blogging... speaking of which, here's a few for you to peruse. While these blogs don't exactly relate to censorship, I found them worth mentioning. First, check out this new blog about women and travel. It has potential and appeal, especially for someone like me who is always wanting to just pack my things and disappear for a few months, but always manages to find excuses (finances probably being the biggest one) . The next blog I'd like to recommend has some intriguing, less mainstream news stories along with a rather cynical perspective. And last, but not least, I found an interesting commentary on teaching literature. It's the post dated September 9, 2004. Happy blogging!

A Brief History of Censorship

I found this brief, but informative article about censorship. Reading it makes me glad that I live in the U.S. where censorship isn't as accepted as it once was (and still is in other countries).

And yet, censorship is still alive and well here in the United States. At Arizona State University, some artists' works were pulled from the "Democracy in America" exhibition because they criticized George W. Bush, and because these works were not counter-balanced by works criticizing John Kerry. Sounds a little ridiculous to me. Also check out the post a little farther down the page about the art gallery owner in California. I think that the people who would vandalize her gallery and threaten the lives of her and her children are the anti-Americans, unless America has come to stand for mindless oppression and brutality. The last time I checked, the First Amendment was still in effect, and that's about as American as you can get.

About the Author

Hi! My name is Kira and I am an undergrad majoring in English Literature. My goal in creating this blog is to increase both my own and other people's awareness of censorship. I don't remember exactly how I became interested in the subject, but I have always enjoyed questioning authority and pushing my boundaries. I used to drive my mom crazy with all of my "Why?"s. I guess fighting censorship would naturally go along with those two qualities. I was thinking this could be a blog entirely devoted to banned, challenged and censored books, but I don't want to limit myself. Instead, I will try to keep you up to date on different censorship issues while also delving into its rich history. Please let me know of anything that seems relevant to the topic if I don't include it. Happy blogging!