NCAC In the News

On TV

4/6/2009 NCAC's Arts Advocacy Program Director on Al-Jazeera "Listening Post"

2/23/2009 Executive Director Joan Bertin on the Danish cartoon controversy.

On the Radio

3/19/2009 NCAC's Rebecca Zeidel on Oregon Public Radio's show "Think Out Loud"
 

In the Newspapers and Blogs

6/10/2009 "Morrison, Lebowitz, Blume Talk Censorship" by Rocco Staino, School Library Journal

6/8/2009 "Wisconsin Christians call for book-burning" by Bess Twiston Davies Faith Central blog, Times Online (UK)

6/5/2009 "Toni Morrison: why books must not be censored" by Marjorie Kehe, Chapter & Verse blog, Christian Science Monitor

6/5/2009 "Toni Morrison defends 'sacredness' of books against censorship" by Alison Flood, The Guardian (UK)

6/4/2009 "A Fireside Chat About Book Burning" by Motoko Rich, New York Times

6/4/2009 "Toni Morrison speaks up for free speech" by Hillel Italie, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — The setting was divine — a duplex on the Upper East Side. The featured speaker, Nobel laureate Toni Morrison. The subjects: sex, violence and profanity. In other words, the stuff that books are banned for.

Some 50 publishers, writers and other First Amendment supporters gathered over cocktails Wednesday night to launch the Free Speech Leadership Council, an advocacy arm of the National Coalition Against Censorship, a nonprofit founded in 1974.

Former HarperCollins CEO Jane Friedman, who hosted the event at her apartment, is the council's chair. "I don't see how you can be in publishing for 40 years and not care about this," Friedman said.

Morrison, 78, has long experience with censorship. Her novels "Beloved," "Song of Solomon" and "The Bluest Eye" have frequently been threatened with removal from library shelves — and sometimes pulled — because of sexual, racial or violent content.

Seated regally in Friedman's living room as other guests stood around her, Morrison said the problem was fear — fear of information, dating back to the book of Genesis and the fatal temptation of the Tree of Knowledge.

"Knowledge is bad" is the Bible's message, Morrison said, while being interviewed by author-humorist Fran Lebowitz. "It is sinful. It will corrupt you and you will die."

And that fear still "floats around in the back of the brain," Morrison added, noting how slaves once risked their lives to learn to read. "To know stuff is a bad thing. It has consequences, and the consequences are death."

Also attending was Judy Blume, whose books, too, often show up on lists of banned works. The author, whose novels include "Forever" and "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret," joked about being forbidden as a girl to read John O'Hara's novel of a woman's uncontainable sexual desire, "A Rage to Live."

Blume, 61, first became aware of the book around age 9, when her mother warned not to look at the book, especially a certain page. The library would not allow Blume to borrow it without written permission.

When she finally got her hands on it, Blume found the novel "very satisfying.

"My husband may not like this, but I did not become a nymphomaniac," she joked.

At the end of event, signed copies were handed out of a new release edited by Morrison, "Burn This Book," which compiles essays by Morrison, John Updike, Salman Rushdie and others about writing and its risks and challenges.

On Wednesday night, Morrison recalled a letter being sent to her publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, from a Texas inmate, who informed the author that "Song of Solomon" was not permitted at the prison because it might start a riot.

"And I thought, `What a powerful book,'" Morrison said. "This book is so powerful."

6/4/2009 "NCAC Launches Free Speech Leadership Council" Poets & Writers

6/4/2009 "Toni Morrison Defends Censored Work" by Jason Boog, Galleycat

5/20/2009 "West Bend City Council Fails to Reinstate Library Board Members" by Debra Lau Whelan, School Library Journal
"... They’re very skillful at playing the political game," says Tyree, referring to the fact that the book challenge has ended up pitting city council members against library supporters—and has gained nationwide attention, with the American Library Association, the American Bookseller Foundation for Free Expression, the National Coalition Against Censorship, and the School of Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee weighing in their support for the library board members. ..."

5/1/2009 "Symposium asks: Is speech really free?" The Herald, New Britain, Connecticut

"The final chapter of a two-day symposium on the First Amendment is being offered at Capital Community College in Hartford today. The event, organized by the Center for First Amendment Rights and the National Coalition Against Censorship began Friday. ..."

04/29/2009 "Free Speech Groups Criticize Dismissal of Wisconsin Library Board Members" by Lynn Andriani, Publishers Weekly
"Four members of a library board in West Bend, Wis., were dismissed last week for refusing to remove controversial books from the library’s young adult section—and yesterday, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the National Coalition Against Censorship, the Association of American Publishers and PEN American Center criticized the firings. ..."

4/15/2009 "You've Been Twittered" The London Times

4/13/2009 "Former ESA VP to Chair National Coalition Against Censorship" GamePolitics.com

"Gail Markels, a New York attorney who formerly served as VP and General Counsel with game publishers' trade group ESA, has been elected to chair the board of the National Coalition Against Censorship. Most recently, NCAC was active in the successful fight against Utah's Jack Thompson-authored video game bill, HB 353. ..."

4/2/2009 "NCAC Applauds Utah Governor’s Veto"by James Fudge, Crispy Gamer
"The National Coalition Against Censorship this week applauded Utah Governor Jon Huntsman’s decision to veto bill House Bill 353 and called on the Utah Senate and House of Representatives to uphold the veto. The bill was crafted with the help of former ambulance chaser Jack Thompson, who was supposed to make it “constitutionally sound.” The bill made it past the state lawmakers almost unanimously, but the governor apparently didn’t agree."

3/26/2009 "College removes sculpture of sex act" Associated Press
" ...The National Coalition Against Censorship, based in New York City, condemned the university's actions, saying it raised serious free-speech concerns. On its blog, the coalition said removing the sculpture was "an unacceptable violation of the academic freedom to openly discuss ideas and social problems in a public university." ... The coalition said the university could have taken steps short of removing the sculpture, such as posting signs for parents or closing the gallery during children's productions at the theater next door. ..."

3/25/2009 "BGSU Firelands accused of censorship" by Tom Jackson Sandusky Register
"The dispute over the censorship of a sculpture exhibit at BGSU Firelands has gone national. The National Coalition Against Censorship, based in New York City, condemned BGSU Firelands’ removal of a sculpture by Pennsylvania artist James Parlin from the Little Gallery on campus. ..." 

3/25/2009 "First Amendment Expert Considers Final Version of Utah Video Game/Movie Bill" GamePolitics.com
"Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman is now considering whether to sign into law HB 353, the Jack Thompson-conceived video game and movie bill. The Guv has until approximately April 1st to make that decision. In the meantime, the National Coalition Against Censorship, among others, has urged Huntsman to veto the measure. ... The National Coalition Against Censorship makes a great point when it states that this bill, "by incorporating the private voluntary ratings system... constitutes an unlawful delegation of legislative authority to a non-governmental entity. ..."

2/9/2009 "My Secret Life: Judy Blume, author" The Independent, UK
"Born 12 February 1938 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Judy Blume is an award-winning author best-known for her novels for teenage girls, including Are you There God? It's Me, Margaret. During the 1980s she became the focus of a book-banning campaign and since then she has worked with the National Coalition Against Censorship to protect the freedom to read. ..."

2/1/2009 "A Dirty Little Secret: Self-Censorship" by Debra Lau Whelan
School Library Journal
"Interestingly, nearly half of those surveyed (49 percent) say they’ve dealt with a book challenge. And once someone’s been burned by the experience, it’s hard not to let it affect future book purchases, says Joan Bertin, executive director of the National Coalition Against Censorship. Despite this, however, 80 percent say those challenges haven’t affected their book-buying decisions. ..."

12/11/2008 "High school tears out 'inappropriate' pages from set text" by Alison Flood The Guardian, UK
"..."This is a very glaring instance of censorship," said Chris Finan, president of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression. "No kid reading that book is going to not notice that pages have been pulled out," said Rebecca Zeidel, programme director of the Kids Right to Read project, a joint initiative between the ABFFE and the National Coalition Against Censorship. Zeidel is currently working on a formal response to the school on the issue. ..."