The McWherter Library, located at the University of Memphis, is hosting Banned Books Week again this year. This event demonstrates a topic that has been debated and argued, but should have an obvious reaction. That topic is freedom of expression, and the event is showing the obvious reaction-books should never be banned. In 2011, however, the books that are chosen will have a special focus on the Progressive Era, to tie in with this school’s celebration of 100 years. As the University of Memphis opened in 2012, the books will be from around those times.
Beginning on Sept. 26 and ending Sept. 30, Banned Books Week will be a way to show students and staff alike that all books should be noticed and not ignored. Steven Knowlton, the Collection Development Librarian who actively participates in organizing and reading at this event, sums it up nicely, saying, “Banned Books Week is a way to celebrate the freedom to read. One of the principles that libraries operate under is intellectual freedom; that is to say no material should be censored, or banned, or restricted,” says Knowlton, while bringing out a librarian pledge that expresses this sentiment. This simple but crucial statement shows that not only should anyone be able to read, but anyone should be able to read anything that they please. The freedom extends to subjects that are controversial but are entertaining and educational for many people.
To celebrate this week, there will be readings in the library from Monday to Friday, the time being from 11:30am to 1:30pm. The books that are chosen to read, Knowlton mentions, will be books that threaten the normal standard of ethics in society. Books such as Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, the Communist Manifesto by Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx, and Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser will be read because of religious, sexual, and political views that defied the norm.
The topics of banned books have been vast, but Tom Mendina, who is a retired professor, speaks about the Progressive Era being a time where books with women who dealt with sexuality were looked down upon. In that time, and still today for many people, women were supposed to be seen as chaste and pure. Stories about the sexual pursuits of women were alarming to some, especially Christians who believed that books such as these were disrespectful to their religion and mankind. Thus, another topic of literature was ignored, despite its artistic value and potential to have an effect on others.
One of these books was a novel called Madame Bovary, written by Gustave Flaubert. It is about a woman, Emma Bovary, who engages in several acts of adultery, being bored with her increasingly dull life and becoming tired of her husband, who is a doctor. France, Italy, and the United States had all banned this book, because of questionable morals, featuring unfaithfulness and suicide. Although adultery often has negative effects on a person’s life, it is still a novel that should have the opportunity to be praised and, in fact, often is, as Madame Bovary is considered quite a classic today.
High school student Emily Clark, who has read the novel, said, “I like it because it is different. You often hear a lot of books that deal with happy endings, and, to me, this novel had a realistic approach to something that may be ideal for a lot of people, but causes problems instead. I think this novel achieved that.” And, about the topic of banning books, she said, “People may just be afraid to admit that everything is not the way they might want it to be. But instead of banning, we should try to learn more about these things and become more aware.”
Knowlton also mentions that what is controversial for some may not be for others. For example, in largely Islamic countries, a pro-Christian novel probably would not be very familiar, and vice-versa in America. Likewise, people have different opinions and religious backgrounds, and catering to one group alienates the others, which is a step backward instead of forward. Banned Books Week, the American Library Association and its supporters against censorship will continue to enforce this message, and have done so for more than 25 years.
For more information about Banned Books Week, visit ala.org, the American Library Association’s official website.
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