Banned Books Week-Aftermath

The 27th Annual Banned Books Week (September 26−October 3, 2009) has come to an end in America and many icons from the music, visual arts, and literary world have congregated in San Fransisco to protest book banning in public and school libraries across the United States.

Surprisingly, the book that has amassed the most controversy in recent years is not even aimed at mature audiences. Rather, it is a children's book named "And Tango Makes Three " by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell.

The book tells the true story of two male penguins from the New York Zoo that bond and build a nest together, eventually adopting an abandoned fledgling penguin named Tango.

Author Richardson has expressed his disappointment in the reactions that his children's book has received. In a statement to the BBC, he said:

"It's regrettable that some parents believe reading a true story about two male penguins hatching an egg will damage their children's moral development. They (the parents) are entitled to express their beliefs, but not to inflict them on others."

Meanwhile, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has been excluded from winning the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States. The reason being:

Critics, namely US politicians, have deemed that the Harry Potter series "promotes sorcery"

As far as reasons for books being banned go, this is definitely one of the least common. According to the BBC, the most commonly cited reason for the American Library Association or ALA (a not-for-profit organisation aiming to promote libraries and the profession of librarianship) to not allow books to be shown in public libraries is if the material is too "sexually explicit".

Other reasons for books to be banned include works that are deemed to be anti-ethnic, anti-family, or unsuited to the age group. Books that clash with religious associations or include homosexuality are also controversial enough to be taken off the shelves in school or public libraries.

Ultimately, the ALA has expressed in its webpage that the aim of Banned Books Week is to celebrate the importance of freedom of expression and freedom of access to intellectual property while giving others a fair warning of the adverse effects of censorship.

To conclude this post, I would be most curious to hear others' opinions of these events. For further information, I will also give the links to the BBC, Amazon, and the ALA.

Kind Regards,

Eric Lafif, alias Journo-SEAL


External Links:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8284509.stm

http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek/index.cfm

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tango-Makes-Three-Chinstrap-Penguin/dp/0689878451/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254756238&sr=1-2