Governments and religious groups have been banning great books for almost as long as people have been writing them.
The first emperor of China burned all books he considered subversive, the Roman Emperor Caligula banned Homer’s Odyssey because it promoted Greek ideals of freedom, and for over 400 years the Catholic Church updated their Index of Prohibited Books.
However, if you think the problem of censorship was consigned to a more regressive past, think again.
Today, scores of classic and popular books are banned and challenged in countries around the world. Although books can no longer be ‘banned’ in the United States thanks to the Supreme Court, they can still be restricted in schools and libraries throughout the country.
Banned Books Week is an annual event sponsored by the American Library Association and Amnesty International. The initiative shines a spotlight on books being challenged and restricted across the United States, including those considered too subversive, taboo or inconvenient to be read.
Among the books being championed this year are George by Alex Gino, A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss, and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.
To help kick start the week beginning Monday, and in the spirit that adults should be able to read whatever they want, Global English Editing have created this epic literary map. They highlight nearly 50 books currently banned in different countries around the world.
You can also read a description of each book, including the reason why each one is banned, on the Global English Editing blog here.
Check out the map below.
(Map is also available here: https://geediting.com/forbidden-books-2019-map/)
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