Banned Books Week: Celebrate Your Right to Read

Obscene, blasphemous, violent, smutty, gory, profane, and racially charged—this is how the censors describe some books. They say, “No.” They say you can’t read it. They say that they know better. They say they are protecting children and preserving values in the community. They say, “No.”

“Yes” is what I say.  Yes, you can have what you want to read. Ask me and I will do my best to give you “obscene, blasphemous, violent, smutty, gory, profane, and racially charged” if that is what you want. If that is not what you want, I will help you find what you do want.

I am public librarian. I will protect and defend your right to read whatever you want, even if you are a kid. I do this each and every day. But, this week is particularly special because it is Banned Books Week, an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. It was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. According to the American Library Association, more than 1,300 books have been challenged since the inception of the event.

This year, I am defending your right to read about underwear clad superheroes, gay penguins, bondage, ghosts and a potty-mouthed Native American. All these topics have been the subject of book challenges. According to the American Library Association, there were 464 challenges reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom in 2012, and many more go unreported. The 10 most challenged titles of 2012 were:

1. Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey
   Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited for age group

2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
   Reasons: Offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group

3. Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher
   Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited for age group

4. Fifty Shades of Grey, by E. L. James.
   Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit

5. And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson.
   Reasons: Homosexuality, unsuited for age group

6. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini.
   Reasons: Homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit

7. Looking for Alaska, by John Green.
   Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group

8. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
   Reasons: Unsuited for age group, violence

9. The Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls
   Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit

10. Beloved, by Toni Morrison
    Reasons: Sexually explicit, religious viewpoint, violence

Garbageman's Daughter and the Limerick

The first day of National Poetry Month seems like a swell time to take on limerick writing.

There once was a Garbageman’s Daughter    

Who really looked much like her father

She liked to make messes

And never confesses

She was just a Garbageman’s Daughter



The Haircut

 “Justin Bieber got a haircut and it looks stupid,” she said as entered her family’s mini-van.  

“Well, hello to you too. And, just so you know a talentless pop star’s hair is no concern of yours. Smart girls think about their future and their needs. They think about their homework and getting the best grade in the class. As a smart girl, you should take pride in the fact that you are learning both Spanish and Chinese. You should be proud that you are as good at math as any boy in your class. You don’t have to worry about silly boys and their stupid hair because you are a smart.”

Before I could say that to my ten-year-old daughter, I saw this image:

 

Hundreds of my hours have been lost looking at, daydreaming about and obsessing over this man’s hair. You cannot love Prince’s music and not have strong emotions about his hair. Just can’t be done.  Now when I say hundreds of hours, I am not talking about flipping through Tiger Beat when I was a kid and Prince was a pop phenomenon.  I am talking about putting the kids in front the T.V. with a bag of goldfish, so I could read the endless chatter about the Purple Wonder’s  follicles.

There is one theory that he keeps his short when he is in love. (Disagree. His hair  was shaggy and sexy when he was married to Mayte.)  Then, there is the belief that he changes his hairstyle based on type of musical genre he is pursuing at the time. Short hair for the French-style music of 40s in Under the Cherry Moon and long, rock-n-roll hair for Graffitti Bridge. Then of course, everyone wants to know if he wears a wig or hair plugs.

Personally, the pictures of Prince with long hair induces much rapid hand-fanning and longing gauzes at the computer screen on my part. And, I do love the new Afro because it makes me think back to the days when he was young and was just plain filthy.

So with this image dancing around in my head:

 

I answered, “His hair will grow back. Look at Julia Roberts and Kerri Russell. They both endured bad haircuts and survived. However, cutting Justin Timberlake’s curls was just a bad idea. Those cute little ringlets distracted from the fact that boy just can’t sing.”

  

 

Forgotten and Found

Forgotten

No evidence exists to understand why they forgot. It is unknown if he or she briefly remembered and intentionally forgot. Or, if sadness, apathy, anger, or hatred ran so deep that the mind simply refused to remember.

So when it was reported to her via email around 8 p.m. on a Thursday evening, “Mom called today to say Happy Anniversary,” she continued with her work at a nearby library. Champagne corks remained unpopped, celebratory kisses remained trapped behind depressed lips. There was no mention that this was the anniversary of when they promised themselves to each other ten years ago. They slept side by side like two half-moons whose arcs nearly collide but remain separated by the vacuousness of loneliness.

There was nothing left to do but to divide belongings, decide the least detrimental way to let the house slide from their grip and determine the fate of their children. They were falling down a snow-covered hill, no longer fresh and beautiful, but now filled pebbles, dirt, and dead weeds that cut into their unprotected skins as they tumbled. The free-fall could not be stopped. When they hit the bottom, nothing would remain.

Found

But, they did not die. Only material goods were lost. So like nomads, they left in middle of the night with the children and very few belongings. They headed West like so many restless wanderers before them in hopes of something better.  He told her she was beautiful. She cooked his favorite meals. There were flowers, walks, and holding hands until they fell asleep. They lived in house with no furniture but slowly piece by piece, the house became full again.  

 

Happy 15th Anniversary to my loving, steadfast husband.