From the Headdeskery Department comes some asschapping news, thanks to librarian Christine of the Awesome. From Pete Hautman‘s blog comes a write up of the Humble, Texas, Teen Lit Fest, where, due to one librarians complaints, author Ellen Hopkins was disinvited to the 2011 celebration.
From Hopkins’ blog:
Once again, censorship opens its nasty mouth and takes a bite out of me. This time in Humble Texas, a suburb of Houston. Let me say first thing that I did two high school visits there a couple of years ago, and they went very well. The librarians were totally supportive and, in fact, took me to the amazing Houston Rodeo afterward. So when they asked me to take part in the Teen Lit Fest they help organize, I said sure. The event is scheduled for the last weekend in January, 2011. But I won’t be there after all.
Apparently, a middle school librarian saw my name on the roster and decided my presence would somehow negatively affect her students. I’m not sure how that is possible. Maybe she thinks I sweat “edgy and dark.” (Are those things catching?) Anyway, she went to a couple of parents with her concerns. I’m guessing she knew the exact ones who would raise a stink, and they did. They went to the school board, and the superintendent, Guy Sconzo, decided to uninvite me. (He says I was never invited, but I was!)
You know, I’m kind of getting used to this, and I had just about decided not to make a big deal about it. But then another Texas librarian, who is a great supporter, e-mailed Mr. Sconzo. His reply was arrogant and condescending and really made me mad, on two fronts. First, he admitted he “relied on his head librarian’s research” in regard to my books or me or both. Meaning he never bothered to read them himself. (Censors rarely do!) Never bothered to contact me with his concerns. Didn’t listen to the other librarians who lobbied heavily to keep me on the speaker roster, or ask other teen book festival organizers about their experiences with me.
Understandably, this pissed off a lot of people, including the fine folks at the Librarified blog, writer Melissa De La Cruz, and, according to Hautman’s site, authors Matt de la Pena and Tera Lynn Childs (author of the RITA-winning Oh My Gods), who have both withdrawn from the Humble Teen Lit Fest in protest of Hopkins’ disinvitation.
My first thought was, holy smoking jackasses, that’s just ridiculous. What scary horrible things does Hopkins write about?
Her 2004 book Crank was about a young girl who gets hooked on crystal meth. That’s not a hideous problem affecting teens right now or anything, deserving of frank discussion. No, not at all. Her 2009 book, Tricks, is a book told in verse dealing with various teens from different backgrounds experiencing and dealing with… wait for it… oh, gosh you might want to hide under the table here… are you sure you want to know?
Fine, I’ll spoiler it. It’s about
sex.
CAN YOU IMAGINE?! WON’T SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN (who won’t get to meet a New York Times best selling author whose books deal directly with scary shit that many children AND parents are completely unprepared to deal with)? CAN YOU IMAGINE THE SCANDAL (if an author whose books are powerfully scary could reach one kid and help them understand why drugs and sex or both might not be the best answer to whatever is hurting them right now)? WHAT THE HELL WAS SHE THINKING (that librarian who decided she knew best and better than everyone, let alone the superintendent who listened to her)?
Raising children is tough business. There is some scary ass shit out there that I don’t know when to mention to my own children, much less how to deal with any of it, but I do know that I learned a powerful amount of fear and the antidote to much of my self-loathing from books. Decisions like these are the lowest form of asshattery, and I want to start screaming and handing out free books. Censorship is not the answer – but maybe knocking heads with hardbacks is?
Ellen Hopkins published the email address of the superintendent on her site, so if you’d like to send a strongly worded (please don’t cuss at him, though it’s tempting) explanation as to why this decision makes you see steamy red demons of rage and sadness, have at it. His name is Guy Sconzo and his email is Guy.Sconzo@humble.k12.tx.us. Please feel free to post your reaction or the email you send in the comments, and holy smacking morons, I hope this decision is reversed, and her publisher plasters Humble, Texas, with copies of her latest book for all who ask for it.
Hell, let’s give away some right here. I’ll pick three comments from this entry and send a copy of her latest book, Tricks. You can accept or donate to your local library. Obvious disclaimers apply: I’m not being compensated for this giveaway, except to ease the raging vitriol currently circling my brain. Censorship blows.
It seems like the sponsors of this festival should hear the outrage, too. A quick mcgoogle reveals they are the Humble Education Foundation and Kingwood Speech and Pathology. It’s been a long time since I lived in the Houston area, but I have a very hard time believing it’s changed enough that speech and education groups wouldn’t jump for joy at kids reading anything that engages their interest. They might not be so thrilled that authors are dropping out. Given Sconzo’s response thus far, I don’t believe he’ll pass along what the sponsors ought to hear. If the HISD Education Foundation, which claims on its website to “[inspire] minds beyond the books,” hears the opinions of outraged parents and authors, perhaps they’ll withdraw support. Ditto to KSP.
This is so aggravating!! This isn’t even censoring books- this is censoring a person sharing your space!! *Shakes fist at the morons of the universe* I’m definitely writing the superintendent an e-mail to let him know that the whole world can see his censorship and the world DISAPPROVES.
I can’t imagine anyone wanting to censor what their child reads (except for books advocating hate or maybe something written way above their age group). But I truly can’t imagine trying to censor what OTHER people’s children read. I will write Mr. Sconzo.
I read Crank. It’s an excellent book, and one that reaches teenagers. At the time, I was working in a high school special ed class for kids with severe behavioral and/or emotional disabilities, and I borrowed the book from one of my students.
The girl I borrowed it from, a junior at the time, had NEVER been able to read a book cover to cover without a teacher’s guidance; she didn’t have the attention capabilities. She had NEVER chosen a book for pleasure reading. And yet she picked up Crank on the school librarian’s recommendation, read it cover to cover, and told us that reading it had made her reconsider some of her “partying” behavior.
So yeah… Humble, Texas’s superintendent and the librarian that canceled the appearance need a heaping helping of humble pie.
Captcha: neither93… Neither the librarian nor the superintendent apparently recognize the contribution Ellen Hopkins has made in the YA world. And that’s a shame.
First off I am shocked by the Censorship shown by the librarians. I will admit there are books out there that I would hope that any child I have contact with would not read without some adult guidance (i.e. some adult who will discuss with them what the book was about) but in that they serve a purpose.
I remember reading “Go Ask Alice” as a teenager and seeing “Blue Lagoon” then as well as “Foxes”, all these things could have been Censored (and I think they were) but instead they served as something that I read and my mom read and talked with me about (yeah she tried to be cool…It did not work, but I appreciated it later). Thing is “Don’t stop teens from reading something, but be willing to read it yourself and talk to them about it. Who knows what they might tell you.”
When I was 19, my college was the first in our city to put on a production of The Vagina Monologues. I was excited to take part, as it’s a very female- and sex-positive show, and the proceeds were to go to a local organization that aids rape survivors.
One week before opening, our posters were ripped down. Because God forbid anyone learn that women are strong and powerful and awesome and it’s NOT OKAY to disrespect them.
All it did was get us a sold-out show, and we brought the house down.
The point? Censorship blows, and it is always, always, always carried out by the uninformed. Hooray for Ms. Hopkins for writing life-changing books for teens, and for the other authors withdrawing in support.
If any Humble teens are reading this? Get your hands on her books!
sun29: The sun’ll come out when censorship ends!
I wrote a reprimand to Mr. Sconzo (whose name sounds like scuzzball, fyi). For someone who is supposed to be looking out for the education and well-being of young adults, he sure is going out of his way to stifle information and education in a safe space.
Pick me! And yay for trying to create fun out of the censorship.
It’s Texas – the same state that just kicked Thomas Jefferson out of the history curriculum and replaced him with John Calvert. There are plenty of sane normal people in Texas, but it’s currently being taken over by extreme right wing religious nuts. I’m surprised they didn’t gather in a circle and burn her at the stake.
Is…is this Footloose? Are we living in a Kevin Bacon movie? Will John Lithgow preside over the book burning? I am assuming the book burning comes next, right?
A few years ago I did a paper on censorship and learned of how horrible it is. Ever since then I have not been able to hear the word censor without going off on some sort of rampage. lol. I’m a teenagers and personally most of the stuff in real life is just as bad if not worse than what are in books. Books teach you the effects and consequences of things such as sex and drugs in a way teachers and parents never can. They are way more helpful than harmful.
you also have to wonder at what the parents who complained about ms. hopkins books, read themselves. i bet their choice of books is worse then what their kids read. what good does censorship actually do, people would be more interested in the censored books, movies, etc. because they were censored to begin with. the superintendent should have used his brain for reading her books instead of listening to closeminded people. the kids will learn from some other source but will it be a good source like ms. hopkins or from a bad source. i haven’t read her books but i think i will give them a try.
Argh! As a future librarian (and former/current library employee) the thing that pisses me off the most about all this? Is that it was started by a librarian. I mean, come on! I’m also willing to bet, dollars to donuts, the parents she rounded up to go complain had likely never read the books themselves either, merely objecting on what they were told. Bah.
That said, I’m no longer considered ‘young adult’, I guess, but I still read lots of YA fiction, meaning now I’m tempted to go see if my local library has Hopkins’ books—and if they don’t, to ask them to please get them, because they sound like books a lot of teens I know might love to have access to.
I didn’t send an email to the superintendent, but I did send an email with a link to the Librarified blog to my aunt who is a librarian in TX, offering to donate Ellen Hopkins books to her library. I hope it helps spread the good word.
To quote Oscar Wilde, “There is no such thing as a moral book or an immoral book. Books are well written or badly written. That is all.”
Completely aside from parenting, everything I learned that got me through the worst of my own teenage years came from books, when it didn’t come from experience. I love books, and turn to them always to get me through tough times, and the very idea that there’s an author who not only writes about issues, but wants to talk about them, and has been shot down for that, makes me furious.
I can only be grateful that Ms. Hopkins has found as much support as she has, and hope that someone gets through the thick skulls of these people that acknowledging the issues facing teens doesn’t make them happen, and in fact, can prevent them.
So, I hope I don’t offend anyone who is currently living in that area of Texas, but I was born in Houston and grew up in a little town near Humble, called Splendora. (It’s grown some.) I can honestly say many towns just like these are digging themselves into a hole because they censor people/events/art/etc. or do other things to block out new ideas, while simultaneously facing the exact issues being discussed! I love Texas and still consider it Home, but honestly, in little towns all over America teens and children are facing ugly, terrible things like meth and other drug use, teen pregnancy and sexual health concerns, extreme social issues like depression and suicide, etc etc.
We have to stop it!!
And the only way to truly make children want to stop it is not to punish, censor and humiliate them, but to make them believe there are better ways of life.
I can’t think of any way to do this better than through a book.
I haven’t read this author’s work, but as a 20 year old, memories of my teen years are still fresh, and I could sympathize with the struggles those characters might go through.
I am very saddened by the news of this censorship, because it reminds me of friends and peers I’ve known who dealt with addictions, etc. One even died. Who knows what might have happened if they read a book about it before going down that path?
I bought Crank for my daughter’s 14th birthday last month and she seems to have made it through in one piece, without becoming a degenerate or anything! Gosh!
I just checked and my public library has 14 different Ellen Hopkins YA books including audio formats, and the new one is on order.
Kudos to the authors and librarians who are fighting the good fight against censorship. I’m much more worried about the material our young people don’t have access to—like sound information on human sexuality—than that which they can access.
I get on my knees and thank God every time I see my teenage son reading anything between two covers. There’s nothing I’d keep him from reading and as he is coming of age in a different time from when I did, I figure there’s much I can learn from him and his views of any reading material out there. I’d love to win the copy, but if not, I’m making it my mission to go get all her books and stock them in my own personal library right away. What in heaven’s name are people so damned worried about their kids finding out????
Thanks for keeping us aware that censorship is alive and well. I guess we shouldn’t be surprised, when so many people would silence those who have viewpoints different than their own, rather than listen and contemplate the possibility that they themselves might need to reconsider.
I have read most of her books and think this controversy issue is just dumb. She is a brilliant writer who has inspired countless teens to refrain from substance abuse. Her book Flirting with the Monster teaches all the negative side effects. Don’t censor the messenger, Ellen Hopkins is just telling it like it is. Her writing style is unique and out there she deserves to stay at any teen literature conference.
Must go look up that author and make sure we have some in the libraries in Dublin City, I’m sure the children’s buyer would like to have a few.
What? You’re telling me I can’t read something Ms. Librarian? Guess what the first book I’m buying when I hit B&N next? Yeah!
As soon as I heard this author was dealing with censorship, I thought to myself, “Her book must be good and worth reading. I shall read it.”
As someone who also lives in Houston suburb…
I can’t say I’m surprised. Google TX Board of Education, I’ll wait.
Yup, that’s the shit we have to put up with down here. The literate, the logical, those who think the world isn’t flat – our children suffer. We suffer.
I swear to you I quiz my child every couple of months or so about what he’s being taught. There are certain words I’ve told him that he is tell me about immediately if he hears them in school.
I am friends with Ph.D & scientists down here, we are doing what we can. We know we are fighting the good fight, but some days all it does is make me want to cry.
//This is the email that I sent to Superintenden Scunzo. Police33? Sounds more like Fahrenheit 451 to me.//
I’m certain that by now you have been overwhelmed with emails, letters, phone calls, and the like from people either praising or condemning your decision to uninvite author Ellen Hopkins. I know that I will probably be lost in the avalanche, but I still wanted to put in my two cents nonetheless.
First, some particulars about me. I am a dedicated reader and have been since I was barely 4 years old, thanks to parents who took the time to read to me. I have worked as a volunteer in libraries since I was in high school. I am a former bookseller. I have never read Ms. Hopkins’ works, but have met many teens and parents who have. And more importantly of all, I abhor censorship and banning of books and/or authors.
I’ve had the pleasure of speaking with parents and teachers who highly recommend Ms. Hopkins’ books to their teens and pre-teens. Why? Because the books don’t glamorize the subject matter, whether it is drug use or sex. Perhaps you might consider doing your own research rather than simply relying on one person’s own prejudices. If, once you read the books, you still believed that they were somehow dangerous for the teens attending your event, you could have had an opposing viewpoint for a balanced and intelligent discussion.
It seems that whenever I hear of censorship nowadays it comes out of Texas. Frankly, that makes me embarrassed to be of Texas pioneer stock. My family was one of the first to live in the Grapevine area. My Great Aunt’s family farm is actually part of the Dallas-Fort Worth airport. These were people who believed in making their own decisions. It appears that this independence of thought and opinion has faded away. A great pity and not the way to advertise your town.
At this time my hope is either that you come to your senses and reinvite Ms. Hopkins and thereby restoring your standing as an educator or, if you’re unwilling to reconsider your actions, that all the authors who were invited will decline to appear, just as Matt de la Pena and Tera Lynn Childs have done.
Lizabeth S. Tucker
ACK! And they let that Twilight crap go uncensored? Hello? It’s okay for our kids to read about vampires? but not things that really happen. stupid. I’ll buy the darn books myself for my daughter, but you could pick me for this one please ??? 🙂
okay, after85, I’m not THAT old yet 😉
Banning books always seem such a misguided thing to do, what with the internet and all. Banning a book just brings the book to the consciousness of the people, be it adults/parents or kids. So, who loses out really? Only the kids who rely on their school or public libraries for books; all others will just buy them online or in stores.
Besides, given what’s going on in pop culture (TV, movies, games), I don’t think any book can be so subversive. How many kids shoot up their peers after reading a book? Even “Catcher in the Rye”? I’m not saying that books don’t affect readers. After I read Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” in 7th grade, I thought they were the stupidest teens in literature and I would never be that stupid when I was their age; no killing myself over a boy for me. Now, I personally wouldn’t buy neither of the Ellen Hopkins books mentioned because they are not the type of books I generally prefer to read (although I may check them out the next time I’m at the bookstore). However, that doesn’t mean that I would not want others to read them if they are so inclined.
This makes me sad for the children of Humble, TX. My parents had very strong opinions on censorship, allowing me to read whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. All children should have that right.
Now, now, there has to be someplace where narrow-minded, bigoted people can raise their 2.2 tow-headed kids in abstinence-only peace.
Bravo to the other authors for not standing for this insult.
My parents actually discussed things with me. I was allowed to be curious and learn. If they felt things were inappropriate for me they explained why I needed to wait until I was older. I don’t think they ever censored a book. They thought it was great that I wanted to read and learn and hated it when others wanted to tell them how to parent me. Glad I had them!
Censorship, what a useless endeavor. Growing up, I went through a stage when I deliberately sought and read every banned book I ever heard.
Of her books, the only one I’ve read is Crank. And yes, it is some crazy serious subject matter. I’d love to say that kids these days don’t need to read a book like that, don’t need to learn about that sort of thing. But that would require a massive amount of self-delusion. Kids get hooked onto drugs. They are young and impressionable and drugs are “cool.” We need authors to tell it like it is. We need someone to show the disgusting, life-destroying truth in gritty, dirty words. We have to rip off the “cool” veneer and expose the druggie life for what it is. Kudos to Ellen Hopkins for writing about this subject. And shame on Guy Sconzo for not seeing the truth of that. I hate hate hate adults who think that hiding the bad things of life from kids will somehow protect them. That is wrong and just plain asinine. I hope Mr. Sconzo reinvites Ms. Hopkins and sends her a profound apology.
It’s so frustrating – and pointless too because surely the publicity makes the school look silly and raises more awareness of the books.
When I was 10, I borrowed Jaws from the school library – thinking I could snap it shut when things got too tense! My teacher didn’t think I should read it – not because the shark would give me nightmares, but because there was a scene of a woman changing her tampon. He spoke to my mother about whether I should read it. She said words to the effect: If she wants to read it, let her. If she finishes it, good luck to her.
So I read it, scared myself silly, got nightmares about sharks and skimmed over the toilet scene because it was boring!
Thank you mum for giving me the freedom to choose what to read.
Oh sure, the best way to deal with difficult issues is to pretend they don’t exist. Kids won’t find out about them another way than in books. [/sarcasm]
It’s not like people could talk to their kids about what they’re reading and how it affects them using books as a starting point.
That’s too hard.
That’s why we should be emailing Mr. Sconzo our thanks; he has taken the prerogative out of the hands of parents because they don’t need to read it for themselves or make their own opinions.
He’s got their backs, along with their eyes and ears.
I can’t praise Ellen Hopkins and her books nearly enough. My 23yo son was never much of a reader unless it was car repair manuals or books like “Rewiring Your House” and “Building Your Own Garage.” That was until he found a copy of Crank in a motel room while he was traveling for work. He started reading just for something to do, but quickly devoured it—and then bought every book of hers he could find at the local Barnes and Noble. When he passed them on to me, he gave them his highest praise, “They’re so good, they’re like Jolly Ranchers.” (He’s a JR addict.)
And they are. They are gritty and real—and yes, disturbing at times—but so is life. These books don’t pretend life is always perfect and rosy, and they don’t pretend teenagers are too young, too stupid, or too innocent to know what’s happening around them. That is exactly why they are so powerful and so important.
As a Texas librarian, I’m peeved at the Texas librarians who are making us all look bad. Then again, I haven’t been all that pleased with the things some of our local school libraries have been doing, like banning an entire series, one that kids had even asked to have included in the school library.
I’m adding “Crank” to my list of books to read during “Read Banned Books Month.”
Okay, this stinks like a wet dog rummaging through a week’s worth of garbage. The only thing I can add is human nature dictates that as soon as something (or someone) is declared off-limits, that only makes said banned person or object more desirable. Ellen will get her paybacks, I’m certain of it. In fact, I’ll be very disappointed if she doesn’t. What a crappy and rude thing to do to an invited, and then uninvited, guest!