The Read Out! Against Banned Books Week began Monday, giving University of Idaho faculty, staff and students a chance to listen to excerpts from a selection of classic and controversial pieces of literature.
Hosted by the College of Education Services department along with the Library Curriculum Center, the week-long event is in its second year at the university. Part of the national Banned Books Week Coalition, the annual event brings UI community members together to read from banned or challenged books.
According to the Banned Books Week Coalition website, the week first began in 1982 and has since attempted to engage communities and universities such as UI.
The event has taken place everyday since Monday, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and will conclude Friday afternoon.
Readers have ranged from UI administration to professors and students. Each reader chose from a selection of censored or challenged historic or contemporary books.
During the Thursday session of the event, about 20 people joined in on the reading. Audience members had the chance to listen to readers such as Associate Dean of Libraries Ben Hunter, Dean of Libraries Lynn Baird, Provost and Executive Vice President John Wiencek and College of Health, Education and Human Sciences Dean Alison Carr-Chellman among others.
The readers sat behind yellow caution tape and read aloud various excerpts and chapters from their books. A shelf filled with banned and censored books over time sat next to the readers, holding a sign that read “censorship causes blindness.”
Hunter kicked off the day’s reading session with “Slaughterhouse-Five,” a novel by Kurt Vonnegut. He chose chapter four to depict the interest and potential for censorship in the novel.
Hunter said “Slaughterhouse-Five” has been banned or challenged for years. The session took him back to his younger years, he said, as he first read the book when he was about 12 years old.
“I now realize it was fundamental to my learning,” Hunter said. “My thinking was shifted at a very early age, and I owe all that to this book.”
Hunter said many people carry the misconception that literature is readily available for everyone. With well-stocked bookstores and seemingly endless possibilities on Amazon, he said, most would think books can be found just about anywhere, but that is not always the most economic option.
“I’m very thankful my elementary school — for whatever reason — had it stocked on its shelves,” Hunter said.
Baird then read an excerpt from “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien.
Baird said the collection of short stories published in 1990 details the lives of soldiers on the ground in Vietnam. She said she chose this novel because of its connection to the recent release of the documentary “The Vietnam War” by Ken Burns.
After 15 minutes with Baird, Wiencek took to the front of the room to read chapter 28 from “A Farewell to Arms” by Ernest Hemingway.
Hunter said this event helps illustrate the idea that access to literature can easily be taken away — even at the educational level.
“It is really important for people to understand that even if you don’t agree with the content of a book, others should still have access to it,” Hunter said.
Hailey Stewart can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @Hailey_ann97