As long as some human beings have sought to communicate, others have sought to prevent them. Which is probably why some of the most enduring literature of our time has, at some time or another, also been among the most reviled.
Why are some books banned anyway? Why are they censored? What does one do when years of ones life are locked away simply because someone assumes the world ought not to find out about them?
The Thousand and One Nights, William Tyndale's version of the Bible, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Darwin's On the Origin of Species, The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm, and even Shakespeare's Hamlet -- these are just some of the texts that have had to deal with censorship or prohibition.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau's autobiography, Confessions, was banned as it was considered injurious to public morality. D. H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover faced a number of trials for obscenity. John Cleland's Fanny Hill was suppressed for its frank sexual content and parodies of contemporary literature. Also, remember Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses?
Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn and The Merchant of Venice didn't escape unscathed either. The latter was banned from classrooms in Michigan, in 1980, due to its negative portrayal of the Jewish character Shylock. An illustrated edition of Little Red Riding Hood was banned in two Californian school districts in 1989 because the protagonist was shown taking wine to her grandmother, prompting authorities to cite concerns about the use of alcohol in the story.
Even J K Rowling's Harry Potter series has been challenged, ostensibly for its references to the occult.
While banned books rarely have a future, challenged books are better off. Once the objectionable content has been examined, these books sometimes have a chance at being deemed suitable for reading.
Thing is, the more one tries to censor a book, the more curiosity its contents provoke. On the Internet, there already are a number of organisations fighting the eradication of objectionable material. EFF's Blue Ribbon Campaign fights Internet censorship, while the Green Ribbon Campaign supports freedom of speech.
Online resources and libraries of banned books are also easily accessible. The Digital Freedom Network publishes recent writing by people who have been censored by their governments. There's also a Banned Books Week celebrated to uphold the freedom of expression.
So, while banning a book is possible, keeping it out of sight is not. Booklovers will, after all, always find a way.
