By Rachel Osterhues
On Sept. 27 – 30, the University of Louisville’s William F. Ekstrom Library celebrated national Banned Books Week. Banned Books Week honors works of literature that have been challenged or banned academically, due to debate over the appropriateness of content.
On the exterior entrance ramp to Ekstrom, participants set up a mock living room, complete with chairs and a public address system. Faculty, librarians, staff and students were invited to read aloud from their favorite banned or challenged books
“I read from ‘Slaughterhouse-Five’ by Kurt Vonnegut,” said Justy Engle, a humanities doctoral student and library staffer. “I read it in school and it’s always been one of my favorites.”
Like many other books on the banned books list, “Slaughterhouse-Five” was banned for language and sexual content, among other reasons. Other books included on the banned or challenged list include “The Grapes of Wrath,” “Naked Lunch,” “Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry,” Darwin’s “Origin of Species,” and the “Harry Potter” series. Some of the controversial issues in the books include war, racism, homosexuality, evolution and magical themes.
“‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’ is good literature,” said Latisha Reynolds, a reference librarian and coordinator of Banned Books Week at U of L. “It’s about Maya Angelou’s life. The character in the book dealt with rape, which is controversial.” Because of this, the book was challenged in many states and banned in others.
Many students participated in the celebration by listening to speakers as they read from banned books.
“I think this is a really great thing,” said Ismaeel Alalq, a senior chemical engineering major. “Just because a few people don’t like a book doesn’t mean the rest of us shouldn’t be allowed to read it.” All told, 23 speakers read from 15 banned or challenged books.
“You know, I can see why people don’t like some of the content in these books,” said Engle. “But that doesn’t give them the right to ban them. No book deserves to be banned.”
