Poets & Writers Theater

In this special edition of the Banned Book Club series hosted by the New York Public Library, Sonora Reyes discusses their award-winning debut novel, The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School (Balzer + Bray, 2024), which tells the story of a queer Mexican American girl navigating her way through Catholic school.

“Freedom of expression is everything.” In this PEN America video, family members of George M. Johnson read and reflect on a letter from the author in response to a call to ban their book, All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2020), and other books from a library in New Jersey, just miles from where Johnson grew up.

“Books aren’t dangerous. At least, they’re not dangerous to those of us who want to create an equitable and just society,” says author Ibram X. Kendi in this Washington Post video which takes a look at the history and common themes of banned books in America.

“Terrorism must not terrorize us. Violence must not deter us. The struggle goes on.” At the 2023 PEN America Literary Gala, Salman Rushdie accepts the PEN Centenary Courage Award and speaks about the urgency to fight book bans and the courage of those who saved him when he was attacked at a public event less than a year ago.

In this CBS Sunday Morning video, correspondent Martha Teichner speaks with the founders of the activist group Moms for Liberty, library officials, a teacher removed from her classroom for giving her students access to banned books, and Art Spiegelman, the author of Maus, about the fight over banning books. This week, the American Library Association released its annual list of the Top 10 Most Challenged Books.

“A free society does not ban books.” Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones speaks about her personal journey to develop The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story (One World, 2021) as well as the attempts in certain states to ban the book from schools in this interview for The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.

"When they ban or challenge a book, it instantly makes it prime reading material for that community." Sherman Alexie, the author of some of the most frequently challenged books in America, speaks about the backlash of book banning and why he feels events like Banned Books Week are important for the future of literature.