As a writer, I want everyone to like my content. I want rave, five-star reviews and I want critical acclaim. Don’t we all, though.
I have had a lot of wonderful compliments on my writing—from beta readers to people who have read my published works to kind words from those in my writing group. I’ve had just as much criticism too though, and that’s okay. My writing isn’t for everyone. No one can write for everyone.
There isn’t a book in existence that is purely and completely loved by every person who has ever read it. No matter how fragile our writerly egos may be, this is a universal truth we must accept as writers. We tell the stories of our heart and we hope to reach our audience with them. It’s the real goal hidden behind the allure of star ratings.
That’s the problem with banning books, isn’t it. No one person or group should get to say what content can be read and what cannot because not every book is for every person. The themes and plots and characters that resonate with us as readers are subjective, but just because we don’t resonate with every book does not make it right for us to restrict others’ access to the books we don’t like.
Banning books means erasing someone else’s subjective experience. It takes away the ability for readers to find a piece of themselves in those works. Conversely, books give us access to paradigms that challenge our own lived experience. They help us see the world through the eyes of another person. They build empathy and understanding, and they enrich our lives by exploring perspectives different from our own.
There are books I’ll never choose to read but I will always advocate for others to have access to them. We all deserve the freedom to choose what we read.
This week, October 5th-11th, is Banned Books Week—an event that highlights the value of free and open access to information. At Hollow Oak Press, we hold that same value close to our hearts. We believe in the right to read, the right to access information, and the right to be our full and authentic selves in our reading and our writing and everything in between.
Book bans are attempts to control whose stories are told and what information can be accessed. I will never believe in limiting perspectives or experiences. If you’re local to Hollow Oak Press, please consider joining us at the Oil City Library’s event Speak Freely: A Poetry Night of Banned Books on Thursday, October 9th. I’ll be one of the readers at the event. If you’re not local, but you want to stand up against book bans, there’s still a lot you can do.
Happy reading, friends. Whatever it is you choose to read.