dfsThis week marks the 25th anniversary of Freedom to Read Week.
This annual event celebrates challenged and banned books from around the world, while encouraging Canadians to think about the intellectual freedoms guaranteed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Freedom to Read Week honours authors who create controversial fiction and non-fiction. These texts are often subjected to scrutiny and get quietly removed from Canadian libraries, schools and bookstores every day.
Censorship silently suppresses creative expression all around the world, which is why Freedom to Read Week is such a celebrated event. It provides an opportunity for Canadians to collectively proclaim their rights and peacefully resist censorship by declaring “we won’t be silenced.”
Censorship plays an integral role in the awareness of individual choice to select and indulge in books, which may be deemed as ‘inappropriate’ by censors and book-banners claiming to rescue audiences from the effects of selected texts.
However, even websites promoting censorship fail to explain why certain books should be banned, beyond typical blanket condemnations of indecency.
But while censorship dictates to the masses, freedoms are diminished beyond just removing texts from shelves and classrooms. The messages those texts offer are also denied, ultimately opportunities to develop new ideas and messages from them.
“If we allowed the censorship of what people can read or not read, I most likely would not agree with the choices made by whatever governing body held that power. I can only imagine the amazing works of literature that we wouldn’t be able to read because someone found them offensive,” says Stephen Cribar, sales manager at The Book Store at Western.
The Giver by Lois Lowry is an award-winning novel that has been labeled as violent and sexually explicit and has been challenged for its treatment of infanticide and euthanasia. Yet, the message of the book is about resisting censorship, having the hero Jonas realize the unfairness of depriving people of making their own choices about their own lives.
Fiction does not stand alone in front of the firing squad of censorship. Non-fiction books are often banned due to their sexually explicit messages, racially controversial or religious messages, and depictions of humanity that shock the public. Hundreds of Canadian non-fiction works, including Final Exit: The Practicalities of Self-Deliverance and Assisted Suicide for the Dying by Derek Humphry, have been targeted for censorship due to their ‘controversial’ messages.
Final Exit outlines methods to kill oneself for those with terminal illnesses. While the book is no doubt controversial, who’s to say what should not be available?
It is difficult to dictate what is inappropriate for such a diversified audience across Canada. Decisions, ultimately, should be made individually.
The Book Store at Western supports the rights of individuals to read all texts.
“We certainly can’t be a censor here in The Book Store,” says Cribar. “The university is supposed to be a place where all ideas and thoughts are supported and encouraged, so we need to be a representation of that enlightened environment.”
Western supports Freedom to Read Week by featuring challenged books on display in The Book Store.
Freedom to Read
Several websites offer background helpful in marking Freedom to Read Week.
https://www.freewebs.com/censorthebook/whocensoring.htm – pro-censorship website
https://www.ila.org/pdf/2008banned.pdf – Banned Books List 2007-08 – The Giver
https://xnet.kp.org/permanentejournal/spring05/exit.pdf – Final Exit – Book Review
The writer is a communications assistant with Western Retail Services.
