Right to Read Day – April 24, 2023
April 24, 2023 is the inaugural Right to Read Day! A day of advocacy and action to defend our right to read freely. Find out how you can participate here.
Book Banning & Burning Throughout History
Authors of banned books have been ostracized, exiled, or even threatened with death. During certain periods, merely possessing a banned book was a crime. Here’s a brief timeline of book bannings, burnings, and other censorship tactics.
The New English Canaan: The first book banned in the United States
Thomas Morton’s blistering satire The New English Canaan was the first book to be banned in the United States. The Perfect choice for Right to Read Day.
Slaughterhouse-Five: Jumbled, Jangled… and Burned.
Kurt Vonnegut's darkly funny anti-war novel has been banned at least eighteen times. Protagonist Billy Pilgrim has not only "come unstuck in time," he's abducted by aliens. But why? What real life scenario does this reflect?
Love Letters to the Library
Legislatively speaking, libraries have taken a pretty big hit lately. These letters serve to remind us of what's at stake when state-sponsored censorship comes into play.
Roald Dahl’s publisher back pedals.
After public outcry, the publisher of Roald Dahl’s books does an about face on proposed changes to language in his much-loved children’s books.
The Catcher in the Rye: A Twentieth-century Jeremiad
The Catcher in the Rye is a 20th-century jeremiad. What the heck is that? Read more and find out.
Maus: Why it Should be Unbanned.
Maus' removal from the curriculum of a school district in Tennessee made national headlines. This essay addresses why that decision should be reversed.
Show Me on the Doll Where This Book Hurt You
A poem that addresses not only the limited thinking behind censorship, but also the dangerous implications of the practice. By Daniel W. Wright.
The Lottery: Who’s the Lucky Scapegoat?
The Lottery ends with a famously disturbing plot twist, one that has provoked controversy since the instant it appeared in The New Yorker. What point was Shirley Jackson making?
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