Great American (Banned) Books

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (1884) A year after its publication, Huck Finn was called “trash and suitable only for the slums.” Many opinions appear not to have changed. Its suitability has come back under fire immensely in the past twenty years. Challenged or banned in twenty-six states because of the use of the word “nigger” throughout the book. In 2008 the book was retained in Connecticut with the requirement that teachers attend race sensitivity seminars before reading the book.

Moby Dickby Herman Melville (1851) Was it the whale semen? The homoeroticism? In 1996 a Texas school district banned the book from its AP English lists because it conflicted with their community values. We’re guessing it was the whale semen.

The Grapes of Wrathby John Steinbeck (1939) Kern County, California has the great honor both of being the setting of Steinbeck’s novel and being the first place where it was banned (1939). Objections to profanity—especially goddamn and the like—and sexual references continued from then into the 1990s. A work with international banning appeal: the book was barred in Ireland in the 50s and a group of booksellers in Turkey were taken to court for “spreading propaganda” in 1973.

The Catcher in the Ryeby J.D. Salinger (1951) Oh, Young Holden, favorite child of the censor. Frequently removed from classrooms and school libraries because it is “unacceptable,” “obscene,” “blasphemous,” “negative,” “foul,” “filthy,” and “undermines morality.” And Holden always thought “people never notice anything.”

Fahrenheit 451by Ray Bradbury (1953) How much would it cost to get my hands on an expurgated version of this book from Venado Middle school in Irvine, CA in which all the “hells” and “damns” were blacked out? Hello, eBay? It’s me, NCAC. Another complaint said the book went against objectors religious beliefs.

Howl and other Poemsby Allen Ginsberg (1956) Following in the footsteps of other “Shaping America” book Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, Allen Ginsberg’s boundary-pushing poetic works were challenged because of descriptions of homosexual acts.

Stranger in a Strange Landby Robert E. Heinlein (1961) The book was actually retained after a 2003 challenge in Mercedes, TX to the book’s adult themes. However, parents were subsequently given more control over what their child was assigned to read in class.

In Cold Bloodby Truman Capote (1966) The subject of controversy in an AP English class in Savannah, GA after a parent complained about sex, violence and profanity. Banned but brought back.

Our Bodies, Ourselvesby the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective (1971) BODIES! LADIES! VAGINAS! (apologies, Michigan) Challenges ran from the book’s publication into the mid-80s. One Public Library lodged it “promotes homosexuality and perversion.” Please, people, the internet is mixed company!

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Great American (Banned) Books

by ncac on Jun 22, 2012

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