So far, over 4,000 titles have been removed from public and school libraries across the United States.

In Western countries, literary censorship is making firm strides in 2024. The rise of far-right parties, ideological polarization, and anti-LGBTQ+ policies are targeting children’s books, revised works with inclusive perspectives, and masterpieces by authors such as Federico García Lorca and Mark Twain.

RELATED:

The Shadow of Israeli Censorship Falls on CNN Coverage on Gaza

Censorship has led to the removal of works like The House of Bernarda Alba by Federico García Lorca, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, It by Stephen King, and The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare from public and school libraries in Florida, Iowa, and Alaska.

The United States triples the number of banned books

According to the latest report from PEN America, the 2023-2024 academic year saw the highest number of titles banned from public and school libraries in the United States. Over 4,000 titles have been removed from shelves, with 81 percent of these bans occurring in Florida and Iowa.

Behind this wave of prohibitions are parent groups such as Moms for Liberty, which are essentially far-right organizations connected to well-funded networks, explains Madison Markham, a member of PEN America’s Freedom to Read program. She notes that their goal is none other than to exert “ideological control” over what young people can read.

And Tango Makes Three, a children’s book inspired by the true story of two male penguins who hatch an egg and form a family, has been banned in several school libraries. Its authors have filed a lawsuit against Florida over the prohibition.

“In other parts of the world, we are seeing an increase in anti-LGBTQ sentiment, which has often preceded government-imposed book bans,” Markham added.

“Freedom is an inalienable human right that must be guaranteed to all people. It is vital to celebrate stories that reflect and reveal diverse worlds to readers. Citizens must continue to raise their voices in public forums to protest the censorship we have witnessed,” stated PEN America, an NGO that advocates for free expression and the protection of human rights through literature.

Its latest report highlights alarming figures: the number of writers imprisoned reached 339 in 2023, marking a 9 percent increase compared to 2022.

Censorship spreads in Europe

The British organization Index on Censorship reports that half of the school libraries surveyed had received requests to remove books—primarily those with LGBTQ themes—from their shelves. Among the banned books are This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson, Julian Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love, and ABC Pride by Louie Stowell, Elly Barnes, and Amy Phelps.

The European and International Booksellers Federation (EIBF) published a report this year highlighting the surge in recent years of attacks on bookstores.

In Hungary, President Viktor Orban tightened legislation affecting media, publishers, and bookstores. The European Union has challenged the legislation in European courts.

Currently, the Hungarian law prohibits publishing children’s books with LGBTQ+ characters, mandates sealing such books, and bans their sale near schools. In this context, “A Fairy Tale for Everyone”, which reimagines popular stories with inclusive characters like a lesbian Snow Queen, has become a symbol of the fight for freedom of expression.

Argentina sees challenges to literary freedom

In this South American country, the administration of far-right President Javier Milei and conservative organizations recently requested the removal of several books from Buenos Aires schools.

The censored books include Eartheater by Dolores Reyes, a novel about femicide; The Cousins by Aurora Venturini; If Only You Weren’t So Young by Sol Fantin; and The Adventures of China Iron by Gabriela Cabezon. International support for these authors, however, has been unanimous.

“Why do Milei’s militants and the government itself want these books not to be read? Because a cultured or well-read people is not easily governed, as the Nazis in Czechoslovakia knew well. The Spanish conquistadors knew it too, as they destroyed, changed or disguised history or gambled on forgetfulness,” Ezra Alcazar stated in an article published in the Mexican outlet La Jornada Semanal.

“I don’t doubt that Vice President Villarruel wants Argentines to lose their memory. More than once she has spoken out against policies that bet on remembering the great violations of human rights committed by the armed forces during the last military dictatorship,” he added.

“But there is a more serious and repugnant reason: the book is usually a double of the human being, so wanting to make it disappear (whatever it may be) is equivalent to making human beings disappear, or at least making disappear those people who are not to the liking of those who now govern Argentina,” Alcazar pointed out.

teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE – La Jornada Semanal

EN ESTA NOTA:

Comments

teleSUR comments