“We can destroy what we have written, but we cannot unwrite it." - A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, removed from a Colorado high school in 1976 due to objectional material.
The week of September 22 – 28, 2019 is Banned Books Week across the nation, which celebrates the freedom to read and brings awareness to banned or challenged books and their authors. Held during the last week of September since 1982, Banned Books Week shines a light on the harmful effects of censorship by bringing together librarians, readers and literary professionals of all types “in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox and unpopular.”
Each year, the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom compiles a list of newly challenged books, and many classic novels of yesteryear – which can be found in our library catalog – were once subjected to censorship of various forms:
- Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Targeted for censorship since its publication for multiple counts of obscenity.
- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. Challenged since publication due to “offensive language” and “inappropriate sexual references.”
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Accused of representing “intuitional racism under the guise of good literature”
- Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Challenged due to “profanity, lurid passages about sex, and statements defamatory to minorities, God, women and the disabled.”
- Animal Farm by George Orwell. Accused of text and images depicting “alcoholic drinks, pigs, and other indecent images."
Along with the materials available in our collection, the University Libraries are proud to support the CMU Department of English and their sponsored events and initiatives on campus and in the Pittsburgh area:
- The Banned Books Project: In honor of the American Library Association’s annual Banned Books Week, each student in CMU English’s Banned Books Course has selected a banned and/or challenged book to profile.
- Banned Books Week Lecture: "Dangerous Ideas in Difficult Times;" Rob Rogers and Yona Harvey on the Problems of Censorship. Tuesday, September 24, 6pm. Carnegie Library, Oakland Campus. Sponsored by the ACLU of Pennsylvania, Carnegie Mellon University's English Department, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, and Book Fairies of Pennsylvania.
Read more about the CMU English Department and Banned Books Week in the CMU news story “Department of English Puts Spotlight on Banned Books” by Heidi Opdyke.