English professor Henry Marchand develops courses, programs and curriculum in Monterey Peninsula College’s creative writing program. Part of it, in conjunction with the campus creative writing club, has been the annual Banned Books Read-Out.
In concert with Banned Books Week (Sept. 25-Oct. 1), Marchand invites students, faculty and the public to read passages from books that have made the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom list of banned and challenged books.
Making the Top 10 list for 2015, Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan, Habibi by Craig Thompson and, yes, The Bible.
The Read-Out works like an open mic. They provide some of the books from the ALA list, or those who want to read can bring their own, and folks read anywhere from a few passages to a few pages. People can speak before or after their reading, to talk about the book’s importance to them, or add context, or set up the plot.
“We have a freewheeling discussion throughout,” Marchand says.
He says people love the irony of Fahrenheit 451, a novel about book burnings, being banned. Orwell’s 1984 or Henry Miller seem like obvious choices. Anthony Burgess has been banned for depicting sexual violence, Toni Morrison for depicting violence and racism. Marchand says banned books generally carry a lot of literary merit, with notable exceptions like 50 Shades of Gray.
“It’s all in service to reaffirm the importance of literature in a healthy society, and to oppose efforts to prevent people from getting books,” Marchand says.