Students at the Plymouth-Canton Schools in Michigan got a crash course in politics this week. That’s because one family launched an official complaint on December 20, 2011 to have the fictional novel Beloved, by Toni Morrison, banned from the AP English curriculum due to racial themes, sexual content, and passages about ghosts (the spirit of […] … learn more→

The campaign against freedom doesn’t just limit itself to the literary classics of Shakespeare and Mark Twain. Works of fiction and non-fiction, both traditional and contemporary, are recurrent fodder for the flames. But did you know that even comic books are kindling for the fires of ignorance? Edited by comics icon Ariel Schrag, a 2007 […] … learn more→

Upon its publication in 1962, Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time became an instant classic, selling more than 10 million copies in the years since. L\’Engle\’s book takes place in a vibrant fantasy world that stimulates the imagination and captivates readers both young and old. A writer for the Saturday Review said, “[it is] original, […] … learn more→

Ernest Hemingway’s distinctive writing style influenced 20th-century fiction, as did his life of adventure and his public image. Hemingway wrote seven novels, six short story collections, and two non-fiction works between the 1920’s and the 1950’s, ultimately winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954; three non-fiction works were also published posthumously. His works are […] … learn more→

Maya Angelou has done many things in her storied life and career; along the way she has inspired millions- both here in the United States and around the world. Her 1969 autobiography, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”, was nominated for a National Book Award. In 1972 she was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize […] … learn more→

“Brave New World” was criticized when first published in 1932 for having a weak plot and characterization. \”Nothing can bring it alive,\” one review quoted; but it is now considered a classic. In 1999, the Modern Library ranked “Brave New World” fifth on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. […] … learn more→

Censorship has a variety of points along its dark spectrum- from the outright removal of books to mere challenges; both fiction and non-fiction works are frequent targets of the flames of ignorance for various reasons. Sometimes a book comes along that, by virtue of being so controversial, causes lines to be drawn in the sand […] … learn more→

Well wouldn’t you know it? Yet another of America’s legendary Founding Fathers has had their written work banned by the same citizenry that purports to idolize them. Benjamin Franklin’s life story was first published in France under the title “Mémoires de la vie privée de Benjamin Franklin”(The Private Life of the late Benjamin Franklin) in […] … learn more→