1/3/11
by Keith Staskiewicz | EW’s Shelf Life

…What is a word worth? According to Publishers Weekly, NewSouth Books’ upcoming edition of Mark Twain’s seminal novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn will remove all instances of the “n” word—I’ll give you a hint, it’s not nonesuch—present in the text and replace it with slave. The new book will also remove usage of the word Injun. The effort is spearheaded by Twain expert Alan Gribben, who says his PC-ified version is not an attempt to neuter the classic but rather to update it. “Race matters in these books,” Gribben told PW. “It’s a matter of how you express that in the 21st century.”
…
Unsurprisingly, there are already those who are yelling “Censorship!” as well as others with thesauruses yelling “Bowdlerization!” and “Comstockery!” Their position is understandable: Twain’s book has been one of the most often misunderstood novels of all time, continuously being accused of perpetuating the prejudiced attitudes it is criticizing, and it’s a little disheartening to see a cave-in to those who would ban a book simply because it requires context. On the other hand, if this puts the book into the hands of kids who would not otherwise be allowed to read it due to forces beyond their control (overprotective parents and the school boards they frighten), then maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to judge…

Some questions for librarians of ND to ponder:

What happens when we start changing the original text for the “good” of the reader?

What are the implications of this act?

What was Twain’s intent for using the particular wording he chose? How does this change the overall context of the text?

GREENWICH CITIZEN
By Neil Vigdor | November 10, 2010

Greenwich’s top educator is defending the use of a handout sheet of literary passages containing racial, ethnic and gender slurs that was part of a homework assignment on free speech and censorship in the middle schools.

An “appetizer” to a project coinciding with the American Library Association’s Banned Books Week, which took place in early October and celebrated the First Amendment, the handout was intended to get students to think about why certain literary classics are considered taboo, said Sidney Freund, the superintendent of schools.

Among the works quoted in the controversial hand-out, which did not say which books the racy passages came from but appeared to list their page numbers, were “The Pearl,” “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Sounder.”

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From article by Mike Penprase | News-Leader | September 9, 2010

“ The Stockton school board voted unanimously Wednesday night to uphold its April decision to ban a book from the school curriculum.

The 7-0 vote came after a public forum about the novel, “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie.

The board also voted, 7-2, against a proposal to return the book to the high school library with restrictions.

Board member Rod Tucker said his main concern was the book’s language, that it had too much profanity to be of value. He rejected the argument that most kids are familiar with such language and use it regularly.

…

There are descriptions of masturbation, sexual language and foul jokes, along with themes encompassing racism, alcoholism and violence. There are also descriptions of how the protagonist, Junior, tries to realize his dreams while surviving both life on the reservation and at a new school.

Alexie’s book has won a number of awards, but that did not sway the board.

…

Supporters of keeping the book said the issue is about the freedom to read it. They said the board acted hastily in banning it. Some teachers were upset because they were not consulted before the ban.”

“To Kill a Mockingbird”, #4 on ALA’s 2009 Top Ten list of most frequently challenged books, turns 50. It has been challenged for racism, offensive language, and unsuited to age group.

According to an article from The New York Times, “all summer “To Kill a Mockingbird” will be relived through at least 50 events around the country, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the publication of a book that became a cultural touchstone and an enduring staple of high-school reading programs.”