Banned Books Week happens every September (2018’s is September 23 to September 29), and every September I find myself thinking about it. I think it is so incredibly important to acknowledge because other than simply not challenging books ourselves (by asking them to be banned, removed from curricula, removed from libraries or schools, etc), celebrating Banned Books Week is one of the best ways to push back against banning books. It’s why we chose a banned/challenged short story for Lite Reads and why we shared quotes to help people get thinking and get in the spirit.
Our intellectual freedom is important. Books give us the chance to share and express ideas, and to read the ideas of others. It allows us to experience the world through the eyes of others. It allows us to learn and explore and grow, and it allows this in a way that means we present new and changing ideas without risk of censorship. But there still is that risk of censorship, especially under the guise of protecting children.
Participating in Banned Books Week means we can push back against censors and against censorship. The best way to participate it to read banned books. Here are just a few of the reasons to read banned books (during Banned Books Week, but also throughout the entire year).
To Keep Them in Circulation
Banning books is more effective when we aren’t talking about the books. By reading books that are being banned or challenged, we are showing that there is interest in those books. There is reason for publishers to keep selling, for libraries to keep lending, and so on. It is harder to ban a book when people are still buying it, borrowing it, reading it, and talking about it.
To Highlight the Importance of Talking About Difficult Subjects
Many books are banned specifically because they address difficult subject matter, especially by people who think they are protecting the innocent. Ultimately banning a book that features LGBTQ+ characters, racism, sex, drugs, alcohol, violence, abuse, and rape, we aren’t protecting children, we’re isolating them. Talking about difficult subjects in literature is one of the best ways to validate the experiences of adults and children alike, understand those experiences, and sometimes even to prepare for them. Ignorance may be bliss, but it doesn’t help anyone, certainly not the ignorant.
To Learn About Real World Issues Outside Your Own Experiences
Not only does literature allow us to see reflections of ourselves, along with our pasts, presents, and futures, it allows us to see each other. The difficult subjects mentioned above are easier to understand, even when they are not our experiences, when we read about them. Reading broadly about a variety of issues builds an empathetic community both on a small and large scale.
To Make A Personal Statement About Censorship
What better way to tell censorship to get gone than to read books that have been attacked by censors? You can feel good knowing you don’t support book challenges or bans, while also being able to make a statement to the people you know that banned books are worth reading (and never worth banning). Essentially, if you don’t believe in banning books, reading banned books allows you to practice what you preach.
To Read More Great Books
Despite the claims of many censors that certain books are inappropriate or “trashy,” many books that have been banned or challenged over the years have been incredibly popular or successful, with many now considered to be classics. We recently shared a list of ten banned books by women of colour; many of the books on the list are now considered classics or have won awards or have received critical acclaim and financial success. Not everything that is banned or challenged is good, but so much of the frequently challenged list is made up of good stuff that it’s worth exploring more of the books on those types of lists for anyone interested in reading more great books.
The Feminist Bibliothecary 