Sherry Chandler » Banned Books Week
Banned Books Week
I’d be remiss if I didn’t note that it’s the American Library Association’s Banned Books Week. Here’s the list of the 100 Most Challenged Books for the 1990-2000.
Some you would expect, like The Catcher in the Rye (which probably just lives on the list), The Joys of Gay Sex, and Howard Stern’s Private Parts. (The very thought of Howard Stern’s private parts is enough to make me shudder but not to reconsider my stand on censorship.) Judy Blume gets several hits, as does Stephen King and Toni Morrison. Some that strike me odd:
41. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
47. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
51. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
67. The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
88. Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford
Silverstein is the only poet on the list. Is that fortunate or a sign that nobody but Tom Godell pays attention to the dangerous content of poetry? Which reminds me that most challenges are for sexually explicit content. We are so afraid of sex in this country. Guns are so much safer.
You can find a breakdown of challenges and challengers on this page.
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1 Comment
1. Tommy replies at 30th September 2005, 9:40 am :
What’s interesting is that Shel has many more ribald poems than anything in “A Light in the Attic.”
“Mockingbird” mentions rape, and the old Confederate widow is trying to beat her morphine addiction, and there’s a stabbing, but none of that holds a candle to any action movie, or even “Star Wars.”
And what the heck is wrong with “Where’s Waldo?” fer cryin’ out loud!
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