Tolkien’s books were burned in the USA? Really?

It’s that time of year again – national Freedom to Read Week (or, as it’s more commonly known, “Banned Book Week”).

I’ve created a display for North Sarasota Library and I’m pleased that it’s evoked curiosity and some discussion from young people for whom the term “reluctant reader” is an exponential understatement. Here’s a photo of it:

 

“Naughty” books doing time during Banned Book Week at North Sarasota Library

The vast majority of the items were found from an ALA posting regarding challenged books from the Radcliffe Publishing Course Top 100 novels of the 20th Century. I didn’t plan for the chains to have any particular cultural significance in the community this library serves, but it’s possible that could occur.

Beyond the “prison cell” for these books in the foreground, you may be able to make out the large poster with the most prominent line proclaiming “Challenged Classics.” There’s also a nook box imprisoned in honor of the de facto censorship and contribution to the digital divide imposed by publishers refusal to provide libraries with ebooks for their patrons (or to provide enough copies to be
of real service to them).

Also in this photo on the table is a 3-ring binder chained to the display with the same chain that encircles the “cell.” In the binder, inquisitive minds may discover information about where and when each title was challenged, burned, removed, or kept. In some cases, the rationale for the challenge is also laid out.

I was surprised this year to discover that Tolkien’s works were publicly burned in Alamogordo, NM, in 2001 as satanic. Really? In the 21st Century here in America intelligent people would fail to celebrate Tolkien’s masterful achievement and, instead, find it threatening enough to burn it?

This is just one more example of why we need to continue to celebrate and vigorously exercise our freedom to read!