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Sept. 25, 2008 Censorship meets its challenge: Banned book author promotes talking about uncomfortable topics, not banning them Mari Olson • The Daily Republic
Along with a quippy sense of humor and sometimes morose back stories, author Chris Crutcher brings serious topics to young readers. His characters face situations, adversaries and language so real that some adults are made uncomfortable by it. This has contributed to why several of his books are banned in school districts in several states — some adults don’t feel all students can handle such realism. To Crutcher, there’s never an age when censorship should be allowed to ban a book. Just in time for Banned Books Week (Sept. 27-Oct. 4), Crutcher will be in Mitchell Monday as part of the Big Read program through Dakota Wesleyan University. (Monday, 10 a.m., Sherman Center, DWU; 12:45 p.m., Mitchell High School; 6:30 p.m., McGovern Library.) He will have three separate sessions, on and off campus, to discuss censorship and his books. This year’s Big Read focuses on “Fahrenheit 451,” by Ray Bradbury, which is about a society that burns books as a way to control humanity. “I don’t think there’s a time for censorship as a policy,” Crutcher said in a phone interview. “The biggest problem with censorship, of course, is once you allow it, anything’s fair game. … Look at the top 10 books that make it to the top of the (challenged books) list.” (See "Challenged Books" below) Crutcher has been on the American Library Association’s top 10 challenged or banned books and banned authors and has two books on the all-time most frequently banned books list, according to his assistant, Kelly Halls. “Running Loose” and “Athletic Shorts” were on the American Library Association’s top 100 list of most frequently challenged books for 1990-2000. The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression had four of Crutcher’s books on a list of challenged books. But this doesn’t discourage the author from trying to unveil the taboo. His stories discuss alcoholism, death, prejudice, various kinds of abuse — including sexual abuse — and just plain rough times kids have while growing up. “We don’t believe that everything in print is worthy, but we don’t think the self-appointed censors should get to decide what gets censored. Talking about things is just a better way to handle scary material,” he said. Crutcher was born in Ohio, grew up in Idaho and now lives in Spokane, Wash. He worked in education for years and still works as a therapist and child protection advocate. He has taken his years as a therapist and educator and translated them onto the page in stories and essays that present lessons and opportunities for discussion. “I think there are a whole lot of things that are offensive and turn my stomach, but if a kid runs into it, then that’s our opportunity to talk about (it) and ask why it’s important,” he added. A few of his books include “The Sledding Hill,” “Athletic Shorts,” “Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes,” “Stotan!” and “King of the Mild Frontier.” The ALA has named eight of his books “Best Books for Young Adults.” He places himself in the group of Authors Supporting Intellectual Freedom and travels the country having book discussions and giving speeches on censorship. According to his Web site, some of his books have been banned from school curriculums in various cities due to sexual content and profanity, but several fought to pull some of his books from shelves due to gay characters. In some cases, students had a choice to read a substitute book in the place for one of Crutcher’s, but still the books were challenged and in some cases removed from school libraries. Crutcher’s response to someone not liking his books? “Just don’t read them. Intellectual freedom includes not reading things … but it doesn’t include people making decisions for other people,” he added. Crutcher is working on a new compilation of short stories, using some of his old characters in new situations, he said. “Has a lot to do with anger management issues that came up in my other books,” he said. “Where anger comes from and what we can do with (it) and when it’s positive and when it’s not.” He’s a man who has spent his life helping and educating children and now writing books that remind readers they aren’t alone in facing situations, and he’s not too concerned with whether people love his stuff. “If they hate it, I want them to hate it with a passion, or love it with a passion,” he said. “Walk away with a good story and have something to talk about.” In the end, he’s just a man with a story to tell. It’s any man’s choice to read it. Challenged Books: The American Library Association collects information from newspapers and submissions to determine the list of most challenged books. The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom received 420 challenges in 2007. “A challenge is defined as a formal, written complaint, filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness. According to Judith F. Krug, director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom, the number of challenges reflects only incidents reported, and for each reported, four or five remain unreported,” states its Web site. The following is a list compiled by the ALA of the most frequently challenged books of 2007 and reasons given.
The following is a list of the top 10 most challenged books of the 21st century, compiled by the ALA:
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| Dakota Wesleyan University 1200 W. University Ave Mitchell, SD 57301 800-333-8506 |
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