Monday, September 22, 2014

Your Freedom to Read: 13 Links for Banned Books Week



Banned Books Week (Sept. 21-27) is the book world’s annual celebration of our right to choose and have access to the books that we want to read. Libraries, bookstores, and the online book community will use this week to host events, highlight banned books, and spotlight the conversation about the real and pressing issue of book censorship in communities across the nation. 

This year the Banned Books Week National Committee has chosen to emphasize the censorship, banning, and challenging of comics and graphic novels because “Despite their serious literary merit and popularity as a genre, they are often subject to censorship,” Judith Platt, chair of the Banned Books Week National Committee, said in a statement about this year’s effort.

UT Press wants to be a part of this effort. We hope you’ll think about not only the impact that banned books have had on you, but the consequences for communities that deny access to certain books. We hope you’ll show your support to those who stand up year-round to protect your freedom to choose the books that you want to read. This year we present to you a list of 13 things you can read, watch, check out, or do, to get engaged with Banned Books Week 2014. 



This article details a case this summer in which the College of Charleston in South Carolina was threatened with budget cuts for featuring a graphic novel, Fun Home, on an optional summer reading list

 

21 stories about comics that have been banned in the US






The CBLDF’s (that’s the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund) 2014 handbook to Banned Books week


Sherman Alexie, one of the most frequently banned authors in the US, talks about the banning of his own book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian





Thirteen books you would never believe have been banned books


From Vonnegut to Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed this timeline plots the last thirty years of banned books


Hear what these authors, including Markus Zusak, Khaled Hosseini, and Judy Blume, have to say about their own books being banned


Keep up with Banned Books Week by checking out the official Banned Books Week Twitter or Facebook


Interested in current state of banned books in Texas? Check out the ACLU’s (American Civil Liberties Union) most recent report, which even includes some good news


There’s certainly a book that changed your life on this comprehensive list of the most commonly challenged books in the United States



Attend a Banned Books Week event near you


Celebrate banned books week by reading public domain comics from the Golden age at The Digital Comics Museum


Participate in the 2014 Banned Books Virtual Read-out




No comments:

Post a Comment