A bit of wisdom
Today’s daily quote is a bit of #literacy wisdom from one of my favorite writers, @neilhimself.
Banned books
Banned Books Awareness: The Censored Side of Black History
Books, and the ideals and questions they can present, are banned for personal, ideological, political, or religious reasons. It is often said that to the victor goes the spoils; so, too, do the victors write the history books. When that “truth” is threatened the rhetoric and polemic monologues overpower the […]
Banned Books Awareness: The Politics of State-Sponsored Censorship
What is a book burner to do when that pesky United States’ Constitution gets in the way of their censorship attempts? Get laws passed that circumvent them, of course. This week is a look at some of the legislation recently enacted to take away the freedoms granted to citizens of […]
Banned Books Awareness: “Index Librorum Prohibitorum”
The Angelica Library, in Rome, is a public library located next to the church of Sant’Agostino. Among its numerous shelves of original and fragile manuscripts dating back centuries exists a very important collection that the Catholic Church hid from public view since 1559- the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, or List of […]
Celebrating Freedom: Banned Books Week 2014
I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate the power of Banned Books Week than to share something wonderful and deeply touching. In the last several months leading up to this year’s Banned Books Week I have been humbled and honored to read and share comments and letters I […]
Banned Books Awareness: “Hop on Pop”
It was reported here two years ago (4/30/2012) that Yertle the Turtle was banned as part of a political dispute in British Columbia. Well, the beloved works of Dr. Seuss are once again within the cross-hairs of censors in Canada- this time in Toronto, Ontario. Joining the list of six […]
Banned Books Awareness: “Bare-Faced Messiah”
Scientologists have kept a book out of American stores for 27-years because it alleges that L. Ron Hubbard was a racist and a fantasist with a penchant for bizarre sexual rituals; but it is finally getting published. Written by British journalist Russell Miller, it was finished the year after Hubbard’s […]
A Multitude of Drops
Last night I watched Cloud Atlas for the first time. As with any great story, there were lines of dialog that stood out and resonated with me. I just wasn’t aware how prophetic one of those lines would be- which in hindsight is fitting when one considers the central themes […]
Banned Books Awareness: Censorship at Guantánamo Bay (Part 2)
Aside from the complete lack of due process and blatant disregard for religious liberty, human rights and amnesty groups continue to be baffled by the random and apparently arbitrary reasoning behind what publications are and are not allowed to be read by detainees within the walls of the United States’ […]
Banned books week: How the blacklist can goose a book’s sales
News Flash: It’s Banned Books Week here in the United States, you know: the land of the free- at least on paper. As usual, there is plenty of media attention on the American Library Association’s annual event to highlight censorship efforts and I take bittersweet pride in reporting on the […]