This is my favourite week of the year: Banned Book Week. Every year the American Library Association (ALA) highlights great books-including classics like Animal Farm by George Orwell and A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley-that have been banned in US schools. Banned Book Week recognises the freedom to read and not have great literature banned on the basis of content or language that is taken out of context. It commemorates freedom of speech. It is a shame that we don't have our own statistics for books that have been banned in the Caribbean. I know that books on the CXC list have been challenged. Decades ago, I remember complaints about cursing in The Dragon Can't Dance by Earl Lovelace. It is sad that a great book like that was ever challenged because of some narrow-minded people.
The Humming-Bird Tree by Ian McDonald also suffered from that misfortune. Some schools throughout the Caribbean opted not to use it when it was on the CXC list because misguided, misinformed-and might I add narrow-minded-people took one innocent scene with children bathing naked in a river and caused a hullabaloo that prevented some schools from using the book. Here, in T&T, ignorant radio deejays jumped on the bandwagon of those who complained. I remember one day two radio announcers read a passage from The Humming-Bird Tree out of context and inflamed the situation with their ignorant comments.
I don't have statistics for books that are deemed "questionable" in the Caribbean, but I do know that I was told by Macmillan's Caribbean that sales for the CXC Study Companion that I wrote for The Humming-Bird Tree plummeted after that controversy. Statistics for royalties on that Study Companion dropped dramatically to about half of what they were. This is sad because The Humming-Bird Tree is one of the most beautiful books ever written, equal to the great modern classic To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, which, by the way, also consistently makes the list of most banned books in the US.
Over the past ten years, American libraries were faced with 4,660 challenges to have books removed from school and public libraries. The ALA states the reasons for those challenges as the following:
• 1,536 challenges due to "sexually explicit" material.
• 1,231 challenges due to "offensive language."
• 977 challenges due to material deemed "unsuited to age group."
• 553 challenges due to "violence."
• 370 challenges due to "homosexuality."
• 121 challenges due to "anti-family" content.
• 304 challenges because of their "religious viewpoints."
The ALA states, "Of these challenges, 1,720 (approximately 37 per cent) were in classrooms; 30 per cent (or 1,432) were in school libraries; 24 per cent (or 1,119) took place in public libraries. There were 32 challenges to college classes; and 106 to academic libraries. There are isolated cases of challenges to materials made available in or by prisons, special libraries, community groups, and student groups. The majority of challenges were initiated by parents (almost exactly 48 per cent), while patrons and administrators followed behind (ten per cent each)."
Last year, the top ten list for banned books in the US included the following: 1) And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson; 2) The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie; 3) Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley; 4) Crank, by Ellen Hopkins; 5) The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins; 6) Lush, by Natasha Friend; 7) What My Mother Doesn't Know, by Sonya Sones; 8) Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich; 9) Revolutionary Voices, edited by Amy Sonnie; 10) Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer.
In 2009, the list included the modern classic To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee; the popular Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer; Catcher in the Rye, by JD Salinger; My Sister's Keeper, by Jodi Picoult; The Color Purple, by Alice Walker, and The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier. Most of these books are modern classics. The Twilight series, a popular vampire series, became popular with teenagers because of its issues of mortality vs immortality and morality vs immorality. Although it is a harmless read, many parents objected to the series.
Other popular books that have made the Banned Book List from 2000 on include The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini; The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman; The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain; I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou; The Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily Von Ziegesar; Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey (this is an elementary level book); It's So Amazing! A Book about Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families, by Robie H Harris. Last year, a publisher actually released a sanitised version of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, removing the "n" word that so many people objected to in this book.
Thankfully, book banning never seems to accomplish the goal of destroying a well-written book. Usually, it makes people rally to read the book. This week, read a banned book and support freedom of speech around the world. Encourage your teenager to pick up one of the great books on the Banned Book List. If you're having trouble getting teenagers to read, this might be your best chance to get them started. Happy reading!
THOUGHTS
• Banned Book Week recognises the freedom to read and not have great literature banned on the basis of content or language that is taken out of context.
• I remember complaints about cursing in The Dragon Can't Dance by Earl Lovelace. It is sad that a great book like that was ever challenged because of some narrow-minded people.
• Most of these books are modern classics. The Twilight series, a popular vampire series, became popular with teenagers because of its issues of mortality vs immortality and morality vs immorality.