Heated Debates, Burning Books [Via NewYorker.com] The Canadian writer
Lawrence Hill recently received the unsettling news that a Dutch political group would be assembling on Wednesday in Amsterdam to burn copies of his novel, “The Book of Negroes” (published in the Netherlands under the title “Het Negerboek,” and in the U.S. as “Someone Knows My Name”). So what exactly does this historical novel have to do with the Dutch?
[more inside]
posted by Fizz
on Jun 22, 2011 -
46 comments
Malaysian bookstore Silverfish Books recently
pubhlished a list of books restricted by the Malaysian Home Ministry (confiscated at the border by Customs) - a list that includes
Chinese teapots,
children's prayers, and
Dora the Explorer. Banned books & magazines
aren't exactly news in Malaysia; indeed, possession of said books can lead to
severe penalties, even jail time.The Opposition
has made a statement before, but that hasn't led anywhere. However, since Silverfish's list, Malaysian bloggers have had enough with the arbitrary and Kafka-esque bans and restrictions, and have come together to form
Manuscripts Don't Burn, to protest and talk about banned books and the larger issue of freedom of speech in Malaysia.
posted by divabat
on Nov 7, 2006 -
19 comments
G.O.P. D.O.A. , the new novel by Brooklyn-based
Contemporary Press, just got
denied a reprinting by St. Louis-based
Plus Communications. Although they printed the first edition less than one month ago, the publisher says that their religious clients would be upset by the book's 'language' and have refused to reprint it.
I guess that is in the same spirit as Rev. Breedlove's attempt to
rekindle the tradition of book burning earlier this month.
posted by Miyagi
on Jul 28, 2004 -
12 comments
"Hubert Selby died often. But he always came back, smiling that beautiful smile of his, and those blue eyes of his... This time he will not be back. My saints have always come from hell, and now, with his passing, there are no more saints".
Selby is the author of
Last Exit to Brooklyn, (
tried for obscenity in England and supported by, among many others, Samuel Beckett and Anthony Burgess),
Requiem For a Dream,
Song of the Silent Snow. He is being
eulogized in the USA and UK, but also, massively (I've just watched a fantastic TV special) in France, where he is much more popular than in his native land (Selby's death was the cover story -- plus pages 2, 3 and 4 -- in the daily Libération today --
.pdf file):
Dernière sortie vers la rédemption,
L'extase de la dévastation. What makes all this kind of ironic -- in a very Selbyesque way -- is that Selby himself used to say,
"I started to die 36 hours before I was born..." (more inside)
posted by matteo
on Apr 28, 2004 -
16 comments
The following is a [partial] list of the most frequently challenged books of 2001...1. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
2. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
3. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier (the "Most Challenged" fiction book of 1998)
4. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
5. Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
6. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
(Last week was
Banned Books Week.
Sorry this is late. Did you remember to hug your favorite banned book? Does anyone
really think children need to be "protected" from these books?)
posted by Shane
on Sep 30, 2002 -
52 comments
