Author: DWDLLC

Saturday’s post on the censorship issues surrounding the Teen Lit Fest In Humble, TX led to a wonderful series of comments and ongoing discussion. Thanks again to everyone who has chimed in.

One reader wrote in with a link to a censorship lesson plan for 3rd – 5th graders.

Janni Lee Simner wrote about the difference between a boycott and a strike and came to the conclusion that the authors who pulled out of the book festival were closer to workers striking because of working conditions instead of participating in a boycott. I agree; it’s an important distinction.

This strike would have the most impact if the financial loss suffered by the festival organizers put a severe hurt on the decision maker(s). Or if they decided never to hold the festival again because of the hullabaloo. This would be awful for the readers in the Humble, TX, but I really doubt it would affect the decision makers. Their full-time job is supported by tax payers.

Unless and until the citizens of Humble rise up and holler about the decision to cancel Ellen’s appearance, and the subsequent pulling-out of the other authors, I don’t see how this strike can affect change within the festival or community at the heart of it.

However, Matt de la Peña made an excellent point in his comment to my post on Saturday. Matt wrote:

That seems to be working, at least in the blogosphere. The crusty, cynical part of me worries that a discussion of intellectual freedom on blogs written by and read by lovers of YA fiction is a classic example of preaching to the choir. How do we engage in conversation with the people who disagree with us?

Striking workers can refuse to do their jobs until working conditions change. As Janni points out in her post, censorship qualifies as a working condition for writers.

One of my concerns is that a strike like this forces the decision makers underground. Instead of inviting someone who might be controversial at all, they simply won’t issue the invitation in the first place. They’ll stick to authors who write books that deal with situations that don’t make censors break out in hives. And the censors will win again and the readers will lose.

But doing nothing isn’t exactly an option either, is it?

Perhaps our community should start talking with regional and national groups of school superintendents. Maybe with the help of NCAC? (If you haven’t checked out their Kids Right to Read Project yet, do it today.)

What do you think?

Ready… “One often hears of writers that rise and swell with their subject… How, then, with me, writing of this Leviathan? Unconsciously my chirography expands into placard capitals. Give me a condor’s quill! Give me Vesuvius’ crater for an inkstand!” Herman Melville, Moby Dick

Set… turn off the phone and Internet. Put on some music, if you want. Loud or soft; your call.

Today’s prompt: Have you drawn a map for your story? Do you know what the layout is of your character’s neighborhood? House? School? Mall? Draw what you know first….THEN (brace yourself, here comes the fun part) fill in things that you don’t know. Like, what three uses is the guest bedroom put to? What happens in the basement? Above the garage? Who lives past the bus stop? Who works in the store next to the theater? What impact do these folks have on the life of your character?

If you are responding to prompts from your own life, draw a map of your world when your were 5, or 10, or 15. As you draw, keep a notebook to scribble in, and write down memories of the places. Seek the most precise details that you can remember. If you can’t remember, make it up. You are a writer, after all.

Scribble… Scribble…Scribble!!!

Censorship is in the news again. Start out your Saturday by reading  Pat Scales’ great article about Common Sense Media, Three Bombs, Two Lips, and a Martini Glass.

Then bring yourself up to speed on the censorship battle surrounding the Teen Lit Fest in Humble, TX. My friend, Ellen Hopkins, was disinvited to speak after complaints about her books. Ellen blogged about it . Several other YA authors who were scheduled to appear at the festival decided to boycott the event to show their support of her.  Take the time to read Tera Lynn Child’s letter to the superintendent, and Matt de la Peña’s explanation about why he joined the boycott, Melissa de la Cruz’s decision to do the same thing, and finally, Pete Hautman’s blog post about why he won’t be speaking in Humble, either.

I am furious that officials removed Ellen from line-up. I respect the decisions of the other authors to show solidarity with her by withdrawing from the event.

I’ve thought long and hard about my opinion about the boycott and if I should join the conversation. While I was running Thursday evening, I finally found the answers I’ve been waiting for.

I don’t think a boycott is the most effective way to deal with this issue.

Again – I have only respect and fondness for Ellen and mountains of appreciation for her work. She writes honest books about hard things – the kinds of hard things that kill our teenagers. Kids need her books. Her books save lives.

But this is one of those situations where friends have to agree to disagree. Because I think that the boycott removes the opportunity for the other authors to speak up.

Intellectual freedom thrives when there are conversations. Censors hate that kind of thing. They seek to deny intellectual freedom and cut off conversations. When a censor sees something that is scary, their response is to ban it, shut it down, take it off the table.

Teenagers particularly need the chance to talk about hard things because they are developing their moral codes and have to sort out their own sense of what is right and what is wrong. That’s why I am such a supporter of Ellen’s books. That’s why I write the kinds of books that I do.

My concern about the boycott is that it takes away the possibility for discussion. Not with the people who banned Ellen and her work. It’s clear that they are not interested in conversation of any kind. (Shame on them for their cowardice.) But by boycotting, the other authors lose the chance to speak up about censorship to the audience that deserves it the most – the teens in Humble, TX who have been denied the chance to talk to Ellen about her work.

That’s what I would have loved to see happen: turn the Teen Lit Fest into a day of talking about book banning, and censorship, and the precious right we have of intellectual freedom. It would be cool to hear how the teens of Humble TX think that censorship should be confronted. Todd Strasser has written about his decision not to join the boycott. I hope the kids who attend his sessions can have great conversations about the insidious evil that is censorship.

TEACHERS AND LIBRARIANS!! You have a golden opportunity here!! Make this whole mess part of your discussions during Banned Book Week (Sept 25 – Oct 2) and Teen Read Week (Oct 17 – 23).

Feel free to disagree with me in the comments. (No name-calling, please.) Feel free to agree with me, too. But do your fifteen minutes of writing first, OK?

Ready… “Censorship reflects a society’s lack of confidence in itself. It is a hallmark of an authoritarian regime. Long ago those who wrote our First Amendment charted a different course. They believed a society can be truly strong only when it is truly free. In the realm of expression they put their faith, for better or for worse, in the enlightened choice of the people, free from interference of a policeman’s intrusive thumb or a judge’s heavy hand. So it is that the Constitution protects coarse expression as well as refined, and vulgarity no less than elegance. A book worthless to me may convey some value to my neighbor. In the free society to which our Constitution has committed us, it is for each to choose for himself.” Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart

Set… turn down the shouting voices of opposition and take a few quiet moments to center yourself.

Today’s prompt: What things does your character believe in so strongly, that she is willing to fight for them? Write a scene in which this belief puts her at odds with someone she cares about. OR What are you willing to fight for? What are you secretly a supporter of, but you are looking for the courage to speak up about?

Scribble…Scribble…Scribble!!!