This week is Banned Books Week, an initiative focusing attention on the pernicious practice of forbidding the act of reading certain volumes. It’s a practice that exists all over the world, often enforced by restrictive regimes but also in so-called free countries where despite the right to free speech being enshrined in their laws, certain religions or beliefs seek to restrict access to works they believe evil or immoral. Needless to say, as an extreme bibliophile, it’s not something I approve of, so I was pleased to be able to provide a piece for Shiny New Books in their BookBuzz section. And here’s the kind of thing I talk about:
Yes, needless to say, I’m on about the Russians again… However, I think it’s fair to say that not only have Russian writers suffered over the centuries from one repressive regime after the other (regardless of the political viewpoint of those regimes); they’ve also understood the power of words and literature, finding ingenious ways round the censor or just “writing for the drawer”.
The little heap above is just some of my banned Russians. Yes, there are multiple copies of most of the titles, but I can justify that – honest, guv! The “Master and Margarita” copies are all different translations; so are the Zamyatins. The two Solzhenitsyns are radically different versions, with the bigger version being the later unexpurgated version. I have no excuse for the Dr. Zhivagos as they’re all the same version, but they are very pretty….
Anyway, my piece is over at Shiny here, so do pop over and have a read of my ramblings about the vagaries of being a Russian writer. And read some banned literature this week, and resist to the end the banning of books! 🙂
Sep 25, 2018 @ 08:17:50
I think there are two countries also worthy of keeping an eye on: China and the US. China bans anything that they interpret as criticism, and banning books on religious grounds is still rife in the US in places where the fundamentalists have influence.
Sep 25, 2018 @ 14:23:50
Definitely. I think perhaps the US is overlooked a little, but some of the states really are terrifyingly reactionary about books.
Sep 25, 2018 @ 15:07:42
Yes…
Sep 25, 2018 @ 11:16:32
I think Ursula K. Le Guin said something about how in Russia they respect writers so much they ban their works, while in the US we just ignore them. She was not speaking in favor of the US.
Sep 25, 2018 @ 14:23:12
And she was spot on….. 😉
Sep 25, 2018 @ 14:28:43
Great piece and great pile!
Sep 25, 2018 @ 14:30:38
Thanks! I *am* very fond of my Russian collection…. (of which this is only a tiny part!)
Sep 25, 2018 @ 15:38:03
Gosh what a pile of banned Russians. I had completely missed it being banned books week.
Sep 25, 2018 @ 16:01:05
It’s a pretty large pile and only scratches the surface of banned Russians! 😀
Sep 25, 2018 @ 16:06:37
I have my eye on the new Folio edition of the Zamyatin – can’t remember who’s translated it, but it looks wonderful. Thanks for writing this piece for Shiny.
Sep 25, 2018 @ 18:02:25
Very welcome! I enjoyed it! The Zamyatin Folio looks gorgeous and appears to be translated by Clarence Brown, who did the Penguin (which is the version I’ve read). So tempting…
Sep 25, 2018 @ 18:56:21
I wasn’t aware that it was banned books week until I saw your post. As you say, plenty of examples there with the Russians. A friend of mine often recommends Zamyatin to other readers, especially given its influence on other iconic books such as Orwell’s 1984. (Sorry, I’m not a big fan of the word ‘iconic’ but I can’t think of a suitable alternative right now!)
Sep 25, 2018 @ 20:30:44
Zamyatin was definitely an influence on those who came after him! And iconic is fine – they certainly are that! 🙂
Sep 27, 2018 @ 08:20:38
I had no idea it was banned books week! I’ll see what I’ve got in the TBR to stage my own mini-resistance 🙂
Sep 27, 2018 @ 15:21:19
Yay! Resist the censor! 🙂
Oct 02, 2018 @ 14:28:20
Heheh The kind of thing you talk about. Er, fourteen things. Perfect for the week. It’s been ages since I posted for this week (it used to fall earlier in the year in Canadian libraries and maybe it still does – although of course there’s no reason not to celebrate it multiple times) and I’m always surprised how many Canadian books are banned/challenged, even still.
Oct 02, 2018 @ 15:53:13
Yeah, Russians are something I talk about a lot! I don’t always think about Banned Books week but like you I still find myself surprised at the kind of thing that’s challenged. We’re not always that open minded, are we??