What's the Word

Sometimes, before we ‘ve even committed to reading a book, the very first line on the page grabs our interest and compels us to read the rest of the book. Not all first lines are created equally, and each book draws a different type of reader. You like spaghetti, and I like rice, another loves salad, and someone else loves potatoes. So, we pick the flavour we wish to have. That’s the rule, right?

Except, some didn’t understand the assignment and think they have the right to make the decisions for all of us.

Yep. They say - we are all going to get mashed potatoes.

No salt or butter.

No exceptions.

What books are banned and why?

The juicy or raw stuff. The “different”, the honest, the not-mainstream, the historical, the well-intentioned, the ribald, the angry and the bold. These challenges occur when an individual or group or people makes a judgement based on their own perceptions and understanding. As early as 1637, governments, associations and like-minded people began to censor what everyone else was reading. This practice of enforced censorship has sometimes waned or intensified since then but most significantly, it has never ceased. Censorship is still a common problem.

What can be done?

In 1984, libraries, library associations and nonprofit organizations in Canada began an annual event called the Freedom to Read to counter these actions. Libraries, of all types across Canada stand up to advocate to keep library shelves free from censorship where one can choose to read whatever one wants.

February 23rd to March 1st is the Freedom to Read week and we invite you to learn more about it and what you can do to champion this movement.

What do Georgian people say?

We talked to Georgian students and staff about intellectual freedom, favourite banned books, reading preferences, and the importance of the freedom to read. We asked, “what does the freedom to read mean to you?” This is what they said.

"It's for you to choose whatever you want to read and be aware that you have the right to free speech. It's for you to read whatever you want. It's not fair for someone to for someone to stop you at that point." – Jennifer, Barrie student

"The freedom to read is one of the foremost tennants of libraries. Our most important mission is to provide free access to information regardless of beliefs or opinions. We uplift the society's human right to read without censorship or restriction and invite people into our spaces for open discussion and knowledge sharing, protecting intellectual freedom for all." Joanna Coulthard – Director, Libraries and Learning Services

“In short it is our responsibility as educators to provide all the information to students, not just what we judge as acceptable.” - Steven Kooy, Professor

“The college environment must be a bastion of free thought for all those within it. The freedom to read texts which challenge both students and faculty is essential in maintaining a place where both learners and educators can foster critical thinking, creativity, and so many other aspects of pedagogy that help us all grow as individuals.” – Grant Vanderburg, Professor

The freedom to read means promoting, “critical thinking” and an “educated society.” – Orillia student

The most important quote of all is yours. What do you say about your right to choose what you read? Your right to eat rice instead of potatoes. Your right to add butter or salt.

As we spend this week celebrating banned books and our right to read diverse perspectives, experiences, and ideas, take a minute and answer this question: “what does the freedom to read mean to you.”

Do you want to play a game?

How well do you know your banned books? Can you tell which opening lines match the book titles and authors?

And can you guess why they were banned? Click on the titles below to find out!

One of the clearest Black voices to ring in our ears may still be Maya Angelou's. Of the many wise sentiments she wrote, one is that while people may forget the exact phrases said, they will never forget the feelings the words evoked. She was a prolific writer, poet and speaker, and we who have exeperienced her words, remember very clearly how we felt when we read her.

What is so interesting is the connection between reading, emotions and memory. Cognitive scientists discovered a while ago now that our brains process the information we read from a creative narrative and a scholarly expository differently.

Annie Murphy Paul (2017) wrote about how this translates for readers, and it comes down to the fact that academic writing does not stimulate the brain the same way literature and fiction do. Descriptions of motion, texture, and odours are received not just by our language processing centre, but in the individual cortexes as if what we are reading is happening to us in the moment!

Think about this.

• When we read words describing stumbling and struggling through loose deep snow, the language centre sends an immediate message to our motor cortex, quickly like a swift kick, so we almost feel it.
• If the page details the intense scent from a patch of lavender in hot earth, our olfactory cortex lights up so that we think we smell it.

Reading stories rich with metaphors, simile and descriptive phrases arouses our brain as if our body is there, in the experience.

It's almost as if fiction offers us a simulated reality.

What could that mean when we hear voices tell different stories than the ones we have heard all our lives? Voices that speak in a particular way, using fresh expressions, comprised of new, interesting and unfamiliar experiences?

The same principles apply – our brain sets off the pinball machine that alerts all of our senses. This is not to say that reading another person's experience equates to a lived experience. It does not. But what it does mean is that reading of other experiences can affect us in visceral ways.

Empathy is feeling someone else's joy or pain in our own hearts for a moment.

Listening to another person is one of the most powerful ways to feel for that person and their story. It connects us to them, and when we feel, we're more likely to have understanding, respect, compassion. During February's Black History Month, let's plan to listen to the voices of Black authors and creators.

What does the library have for you?

For more featured reads, browse the Black Voices collection

References

Paul, A.M. (2012, March 18). Your brain on fiction. New York Times.

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