On censorship and three banned books that made me who I am
Talking books banned by Governments in celebration of Banned Books Week
“When truth is replaced by silence, the silence is a lie.”
― Yevgeny Yevtushenko
We are coming to the close of yet another Banned Books Week, I have been celebrating this festival for the past decade but it does not seem enough, books are still continually banned, if not by governments than by school libraries and religious minorities. It is painful to see that so much is being done and yet so little changes year by year. The good thing is we keep on persevering.
This quote resonates with me so much, even in my seemingly insignificant life I have witnessed people shutting me off, demeaning me, even threatening me against telling the truth and fighting for my place in the world, and banning books is just a high profile way of doing that.
It’s also interesting to note that most governments that ban books, do so to “protect” the people of their nation - isn’t that a presumption that a whole nation of hundreds of millions of people is incapable of thinking for themselves and yet is capable of putting this particular (whoever) person in power? I hate long questions but sometimes you just gotta.
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Without further ado, my life crunched into books that could have gotten me arrested because of my love of them:
Rights Of A Man by Thomas Pain
I believe I was too young (14?) when I read about the French Revolution and it broke my heart into a million pieces, I went to my school library and picked up this book on a whim and it has stayed in my heart ever since. I think what scandalized everyone (and by everyone I mean the government) is the fact that Paine states that it is perfectly normal for citizens to overthrow a regime that no longer protects the natural rights of its people.
It was published in two parts in March 1791 and February 1792. Here’s a quote just to give you a taste.
“Independence is my happiness, and I view things as they are, without regard to place or person; my country is the world, and my religion is to do good.”
- Thomas Paine, Rights Of A Man
For a 14-year-old this was very heavy reading but I was so intrigued by the passion with which Paine has written this book (and all his other work as I would eventually discover), I couldn’t stop reading until I was finished and when I was at last, I felt a deep sadness in me that I can recall very clearly - that of helplessness of not being able to help more people and ease more aches. It’s something I carry in my heart and I owe it to Paine.
I think the literature on the French Revolution has been supremely instrumental in building my own political views, it eventually took me to Victor Hugo’s body of work for which I am forever indebted.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was banned in 1955 in South African Apartheid for being “objectionable and obscene.” Before this, beginning with the 1910 movie version, the story created controversy upon entering the American public imagination due to its God-like creation of life.
The only thing obscene about this whole thing is how dense people can be when it comes to art. And you know something, I get it - there are a million books that my friends love which I absolutely detest or even decided against reading but hey! I didn’t petition the book to be outlawed because I understand the concept of boundaries and the versatility of the human intellect.
I guess you already know - Shelley is my queen, she began my journey into the female gothic genre and I’m so glad to have found these supremely talented women, all thanks to that one banned book about a weird monster that comes back to life.
I beheld the wretch—the miserable monster whom I had created.
- Mary Shelley, Frankenstein or The Mordern Prometheus
Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D. H. Lawerence
This one was that one naughty book that all girls (I hope, read) and it just filled me with some much to unpack, trust me I am still unpacking. D. H. Lawrence’s masterpiece was banned for the obvious reasons, without an understanding of its pretext or its intentions. Love and life and sex aren’t as simples as my Desi mom would like me to believe and Lawrence makes me feel seen and to some extent understood through his heroine.
Dorris Lessing’s introduction to this book is something I always recommend people to read especially if they’re reading it for the first time (read it even if it’s your nth time)
He was always in an embattled position, defending, attacking, being defended by others.
- Dorris Lessing on D. H. Lawrence and the consistent censorship of his work
READ BANNED BOOKS