Banned Books, Bold Voices: Why These Stories Matter
“READ THE BOOKS THEY’RE BANNING. THAT’S WHERE THE GOOD STUFF IS. IF THEY DON’T WANT YOU TO READ IT, THERE’S A REASON WHY.” - LEVARE BURTON
Book bans and restricting access to literature have been becoming more and more common with each passing year. Generally, when books are “banned” they are removed from a public setting (libraries, schools, etc.) - making them much more difficult to obtain, or even to discover accidentally. Overwhelmingly, book bans affect books centered on marginalized voices meaning that their stories and experiences are no longer available, - further increasing disconnection and misunderstanding within communities. Silencing marginalized voices also creates even more isolation in these, already vulnerable, groups. While Banned Books Week is being celebrated this week nation-wide, I wanted to use this opportunity to talk about a few of my favorite banned and widely challenged books and why they are so important.
I was introduced to Zora Neale Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God” in my first years of high school. Her writing is authentic and female centered. The main character explores maturing and personal values of love and the nature of relationships.
“The Handmaid’s Tale”, by Margaret Atwood is consistently challenged for its political messaging and depictions of religious extremism. Another female narrator, but this one is coming to grips with losing her family and her identity within her country, as an extremist group takes over the government.
“Persepolis”, a graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi, is the author’s memoir and centers around growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. It gave me such an unfamiliar perspective and insight on historical events that I’d already studied.
“Property of the Rebel Librarian”, by Allison Varnes and “Ban this Book”, by Alan Gratz have, ironically, both been challenged for their rebellious characters. They tell the empowering stories of kids who fight against censorship in their own schools. I LOVE both of these for a good intro for fighting censorship and helping kids feel empowered to fight for their ideas.
In the United States, the most frequently banned and challenged books have themes centered on race, sexuality, or social justice. Humans benefit from relationships - even if that relationship is deeply relating to a character that looks like us. These examples help us imagine possibility. Alternately, reading characters and perspectives outside of our own increases empathy and connection to others.
If you want to read a little outside of your normal bookshelf there are a TON of great resources online. One of my favorites is Book Riot. https://bookriot.com You can search any genre and find half a dozen articles with suggestions. I also love their yearly “Read Harder Challenge” that requires reading books from a list of categories, like this years “Read a book about moral panic” or “Read a holiday romance novel that isn’t Christmas.”
The American Library Association is also a great resource for advocacy, summer reading lists and a ton of other information : American Library Association. Your own local library is also a fantastic place to get community resources and information as well as finding your next great book.
For more information on how you can fight literary censorship:How To Fight Book Bans and Challenges: An Anti-Censorship Tool Kit
