What’s behind the surge in book banning?

If I tell you subjects covered by the novel include incest, rape, racial hate, adolescent sex, physical abuse, the F-word, the N-word and pedophelia, would you think it is suitable for children?

A selection of some banned books (Illustration: PBS)

The book that has been “banned” in some school districts is “The Bluest Eye,” Toni Morrison’s first novel, and a Nobel Prize winner.

So let’s talk about book banning.

What does that mean, exactly?

As a journalist — and an author — I reflexively lean against any kind of censorship, banning, or book burning, but keeping “The Bluest Eye” out of the hands of pre-teen children is not censorship, it is exercising parental authority. Can, or should, it be read in high school is a different matter.

Quite aside from some of the foul themes, the shifting narrator, and density of Morrison’s writing makes it a tough slog, even for me. 

Yes, it won a Nobel Prize, and I can tell you that works of art that appeal to critics’ tastes are not necessarily the ones that have wide popular appeal. 

Morrison’s books do have wide appeal, but within a relatively small pool.

I chose “The Bluest Eye” to read because a friend told me he had heard the book was removed — stolen, he heard, or checked out and not returned — from the Free Library of Springfield Township.

Was it some kind of a plot by right-wing, racist book-burners?

No. The librarian, at her computer keyboard, told me the library had two copies, and they were both still on the shelves. Nor had she heard anything about books disappearing from libraries in Montgomery County.

An email to the American Library Association asking for information about possible book disappearances was not answered.I know the book has been banned in certain jurisdictions.

The Springfield librarian told me that books are removed from libraries as their popularity wanes. 

So when I hear reports of books being banned, I want to know exactly what that means.

Generally speaking, “banning” means a book has been removed from school curriculums and/or public libraries because a person or group has objected to its content.

An attempt to get a book removed is called a challenge. Most public schools and libraries have boards made up of elected officials (or people appointed by elected officials) who have the power to remove books from the schools and libraries they oversee.

Decades ago, I remember some on the Left wanted to ban “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” because the N-word was used many times. To me, that is ridiculous, as was the compromise of deleting the word. The use of “nigger” is an important cultural marker of how things were when Mark Twain wrote. Here, I am quoting the actual word for purposes of illustration. it should not be deleted from the language in all cases.

Now, the Right (hello, Mothers for Liberty) seems to be the main actor, and “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Of Mice and Men” are under attack.

Others on the hit list include these classics: 

“The Great Gatsby,” “The Catcher in the Rye,” “The Grapes of Wrath,” “The Color Purple,” “Ulysses,” and  “Beloved.”

 All those books were from the last century.

Current books under attack may have gay or gender themes, which critics often liken to grooming, seducing, or normalizing the depicted behavior. Some parents are worried about pornography, which I question as a concern because any kid with a cell phone — and they all have cell phones — has instant access to porn videos, like it or not.

Those cell phones, through Google, let’s say, also give kids access to anything about gender and LGBT themes.

As a matter of fact, I believe cell phones and social media are the main driver of the explosion of teens and young adults who claim to be nonbinary. Emphasis on “claim,” but that’s a subject for another day.

To me, there is a difference between banning a book from school libraries and from public libraries. There is also a difference between banning a book from all students, and restricting a book by the age of the student.

My novel “Press Card” (still available through https://www.presscardthebook.com/books ) is not age appropriate for pre-high school readers because of God awful cursing, several passages of casual sex and interracial sex, and mocking of authority. It may not even belong in school libraries.

When I read that a book has been “banned,” I want to dig in and see if it is actually a ban, or a restriction, and what is the basis for it.

Generally, even in schools, I oppose banning, but I support age restrictions, just like we have in the movies through a rating system. Information about content is not surpressing content.