You Can’t Read That
Book-banning and censorship has been much in the book news. But I came across an article (posted below) that offers evidence that conservatives are not the only ones who censor literature. This also occurs in progressive literary and scholarly circles. Works accepted for publication get pulled or requests are made to change content of works already deemed to meet the literary or scholarly criteria of the publication. Why? Basically, because of content deemed offensive to some group.
Behind the act of censorship is the assumption that one group has the power to determine what others may read. It is also a decision to not trust readers (or in the case of children, parents) to exercise their own discernment. Not only is this a dangerous assumption of power, it is an admission of failure.
It is a failure of moral education. Censorship often concerns material at variance with one’s morals. Instead of equipping people to make moral choices, censorship precludes moral choices.
It is also a failure in critical education. It may be a failure in teaching how one reads carefully to comprehend what a writer is doing. Or it may be a failure to teach the critical skills for evaluating an argument, including discerning logical fallacies.
Instead someone decides what others can’t read. Sometimes a few people decide for many others. Whoever does this, it destroys a free and open society. And it is an admission of our greatest failure–a failure of our ideas. When we suppress what we think are bad ideas, we tacitly admit that we don’t have better ones–ones that are more winsome and persuasive.
Five Articles Worth Reading
“Scenes From The Literary Blacklist” published in Persuasion, describes the chilling effect of censorship in academic and literary circles and argues that the consequence will be academic and literary pablum.
On the other hand, “The Author of ‘Impossible Creatures’ Tucks Big Ideas in Tales of Wonder” in the New York Times offers the review of the work of Katherine Rundell. In case you haven’t heard of her, she won the Baillie Gifford Prize for non-fiction (50,000 pounds) for a work on the poetry of John Donne. And she has a new children’s book, Impossible Creatures, that is being compared to works of Tolkien, Lewis, and Pullman.
Stephen Metcalf reviews Christophe Lebold’s Leonard Cohen: The Man Who Saw the Angels Fall in an Atlantic article titled “The Anti-Rock Star.” I first encountered Cohen in the late’60’s in his compelling “Suzanne.” He disappeared from my radar for a long time only to re-emerge in the 2000’s with “Hallelujah.” Metcalf filled in the gaps of his career and highlights Cohen’s singular gifts as a writer.
Katie Ward offers a wonderful tribute to the late Hilary Mantel for her role as a mentor in “Hilary Mantel was my mentor. Here are seven things she taught me about writing – and life” A great article for aspiring writers.
Mad Magazine epitomized the anti-establishment mood of the Sixties. As I recall, Alfred E. Neuman was even nominated for President. Take a walk down memory, or discover Mad for the first time in “The Madcap History of Mad Magazine Will Unleash Your Inner Class Clown.“
A Bonus Video
This isn’t an article but rather a video from three years ago when the then-Prince of Wales read Gerard Manley Hopkins’ “God’s Grandeur,” one of my favorite poems. I found it an incredibly moving reading, capturing the mood and movements of the poem. See if you agree, and enjoy the bonus!
Quote of the Week
Following a theme from last week, this quote from Samuel Johnson also focuses on attention. Johnson was born September 18, 1709.
“The true art of memory is the art of attention.”
Since we cannot remember everything, I wonder if part of the art is discerning to what we give our attention.
Miscellaneous Musings
My wife reminded me this week that with Jimmy Carter’s 100th birthday coming on October 1, I should read one of his books. While I’m not sure I can fit that in, it turns out I have plenty to choose from. In addition to serving as our 39th president and his humanitarian work, he wrote 32 books. What an amazing life.
I just finished A Prairie Faith by John J. Fry. It is a study of the religious faith of Laura Ingalls Wilder. She was known for the Little House books which we loved reading aloud as a family when our son was growing up. I discovered that we have her daughter Rose, at least in part, to thank for the quality of these books, and even for the initial publication of the first of these.
Do you re-read books? An occupational hazard of reviewing is having a steady stream of new books to review. In retirement, one of the things I hope to do is revisit some old friends and see how we’ve both changed with the passage of years!
Well, that’s The Weekly Wrap for this week!
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