Banned Books Awareness: “Neverwhere”

October 13, 2013 R. Wolf Baldassarro 1

English author Neil Gaiman’s fan base spread worldwide with his critically acclaimed Sandman graphic novel series in the 1990s. Since then he has solidified his literary mark with equally-impressive and award-winning novels. Last week, however, his novel, Neverwhere, became the target of contention that has engulfed a New Mexico community […]

Banned Books Awareness: “The Wild Party”

September 22, 2013 R. Wolf Baldassarro 1

The Wild Party is the name of a novel-length poem written by Joseph Moncure March that was immediately banned across the nation, starting in Boston upon its publication in 1928, for its decadent content. In spite of- and perhaps due to- the controversy linked to the piece it was a […]

Banned Books Awareness: “The Bluest Eye”

September 10, 2013 R. Wolf Baldassarro 6

Nobel and Pulitzer-winning author Toni Morrison has an impressive resume of literary hits and numerous awards, but with that comes a history of having those same novels censored. In January of 2012, the Plymouth-Canton Schools in Michigan was the latest setting in a long list of schools and libraries faced […]

The High Cost of the Freedom of Speech

July 21, 2013 R. Wolf Baldassarro 0

The freedom of speech comes at a very high price for those few who dare to engage in their constitutional right to use it. For Justin Carter it cost him 5 months of his life- and could still cost him at least 10 more years. Now, a teenage coffee shop […]

Sometimes Limiting Free Speech is Necessary

July 11, 2013 R. Wolf Baldassarro 6

I know what some of you are thinking: “He’s finally lost his mind. Could Mr. Free Speech be condoning censorship?” You’d be jumping to an incorrect conclusion on both counts. Let me explain. We know that censorship comes in any form and across any medium. Neither is it isolated to […]