Features authors who will read from their banned books
By Jane
Fusco
A sampling of banned books from the ACLU
To celebrate and encourage the
freedom to read, the University of Rhode Island’s Feinstein College of
Education and Professional Studies will hold a series of events during Banned
Books Week, Sept. 19-23, to bring awareness to censored and challenged books.
Tiffany D. Jackson, filmmaker and New York Times bestselling author of Monday’s Not Coming, a 2021 banned book, will be the
guest speaker on Sept. 19, at 4 p.m., in the Paff auditorium on the Providence
campus.
Drag Story Hours on Sept. 22 and 23 at 7 pm, in the Providence campus
library, will feature drag queens and kings, reading from currently banned
children’s books. The drag performers scheduled to appear are: Siobhan
LaPorte-Cauley, Ottavia De Luca, Marc Tiberiis, and Patricia Tulli-Hawkridge
from OutLoud Theatre, and the Trailer Park Girls ensemble.
Banned Books Week Schedule of Events
‘Papa Marc’ presents the 2021
Banned Books for the URI Drag Queens and Kings Book Reading at the Providence
Campus Library.
Monday, Sept. 19 – Tiffany D. Jackson
New York Times bestselling author of young adult fiction; author of 2021 banned
book, Monday’s Not Coming
4 p.m. – Paff Auditorium. Providence Campus
Wednesday, Sept. 21 – Open Forum
and Panel Discussion
Censorship and navigating the challenges of contested books
and topics.
Panel of teachers, school librarians and information specialists.
7 pm –Center for Biological and Life Sciences (CBLS), Room 010
Kingston Campus (Parking available in the Chafee Lot)
Thursday, Sept. 22 – BANNED: It’s a Drag! reading hour
7 p.m. – Providence Campus library
Friday, Sept. 23 – BANNED: It’s a Drag! reading hour
7 p.m. – Providence Campus library
Book banning, particularly
children’s books, is one of the most widespread forms of censorship, claiming
that readers will be swayed by the book’s content, or the material is
considered to be sexually explicit, contain offensive language, or unsuitable for
a particular age group.
Each year, the Office for
Intellectual Freedom of the American Library Association, compiles a list of
the Top Ten Most Challenged Books to inform the public about censorship.
“Banned Books Week celebrates our
right to read. Censorship has devastating consequences. Reading allows us a
glimpse into others’ worlds. We experience perspectives
vicariously through submerging ourselves in topics with which we have
little experience. Who should dictate those topics? Ask yourself, ‘who is
the arbiter?’ When a small group becomes the arbiter for the rest,
we lose our freedom to make decisions for ourselves. I’m thrilled that URI
is standing up for our right to read,” said Theresa Deeney, professor of
reading, language, and learning disabilities in URI’s School of Education, and
one of the event organizers.
Launched in 1982, Banned Books
Week was a response to a sudden surge in the number of challenged books in
schools, bookstores, and libraries.
Typically held in September,
Banned Books Week celebrates the freedom to read and informs current and
historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools, while supporting
the value of free and open access to information.
The banned book lists are based on
information from media stories and voluntary challenge reports
from communities across the United States.
