Belarus, a key ally of Russia, has reportedly banned the sale of Orwell’s chilling novel on totalitarianism and Big Brother. Read more
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Tag: Censorship
The Power—and Necessity—of Reading Dangerously
Authors are not infallible. Each great writer is the child of her or his age, certainly. But the miraculous aspect of great books is their ability to both reflect and transcend the prejudices of the author as well as their time and place. It is this quality that allows a young woman in twentieth-century Iran to read a Greek man named Aeschylus, who lived thousands of years ago, and to empathize with him. Reading does not necessarily lead to direct political action, but it fosters a mindset that questions and doubts; that is not content with the establishment or the established. Fiction arouses our curiosity, and it is this curiosity, this restlessness, this desire to know that makes both writing and reading so dangerous. Read more
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Publishing C.E.O. Donates $500,000 to Fight Book Bans
Markus Dohle, the chief executive of Penguin Random House, said the effort “ties into the future of our democracy.” Read more
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School Board in Tennessee Bans Teaching of Holocaust Novel ‘Maus’
A school board in Tennessee voted unanimously this month to ban “Maus,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel about the Holocaust, from being taught in its classrooms because the book contains material that board members said was inappropriate for students. Read more
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Pennsylvania students are protesting their school district’s ban on books by authors of color
Last October, the Central York school board unanimously banned a list of resources written by authors of color and featuring main characters of color. The banned resources range from I Am Not Your Negro, an Oscar-nominated PBS documentary about James Baldwin; to a statement on racism from the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators; to a children’s coloring book featuring African Adrinkra symbols; to an African-themed cookbook. Read more
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Self-censorship hits Hong Kong book fair in wake of national security law
Booksellers at Hong Kong’s annual book fair are offering a reduced selection of books deemed politically sensitive, as they try to avoid violating a sweeping national security law imposed on the city last year. Read more
The Man Who Hated Women: Sex, Censorship, and Civil Liberties in the Gilded Age
In this important work of biographical history, novelist Sohn traces the career of Anthony Comstock (1844-1915), special agent to the U.S. Post Office and secretary of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice. For more than 40 years, Comstock, a deeply Christian dry goods seller from Connecticut, harassed and imprisoned many of the important pioneers in the birth control movement. Read more
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