tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214531909685193256.post5885917411223549066..comments2023-06-01T05:52:44.931-04:00Comments on CBC Diversity: Here's a Question:CBC Diversity Committeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02210096489191130439noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214531909685193256.post-49456258446211884932012-11-05T19:30:56.803-05:002012-11-05T19:30:56.803-05:00I agree that most YA titles present "perverse...I agree that most YA titles present "perverse" material in a constructive way. This is because a published book is produced through the filter of experienced (and hopefully, not depraved) agents and editors. Self publishing and online publishing creates all kinds of problems, but the online world is rife with harmful material so it's not really a comparison.<br /><br />Apart from books that might be too complex or explicit for very young readers, I can't think of a book that my daughter might find in a public library that I would not want her to read EVER (aside from some that I might worry would kill her from boredom). Some books are bleak and dark, some are just bad and shallow.<br /><br />I think it's like food. In the end all "food" is food. it's not poison, it's not evil. Some is better for you than other but it will ALL keep you alive on a deserted island. We know we shouldn't let kids eat nothing but junk, but does it follow that the occasional hamburger meal is harmful?The Busy Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06436661456524769835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214531909685193256.post-38383078345704532072012-11-05T14:13:51.178-05:002012-11-05T14:13:51.178-05:00Cynthia! First, it is impossible for me to disagre...Cynthia! First, it is impossible for me to disagree with you. Second, I think I was trying to work out this very idea, of being part of a community that is vocal about issues of racism/sexism. I remember reading the quote below once, and wondering what anyone could do about it. <br /><br />"Whatever Conrad's problems were, you might say he is now safely dead. Quite true. Unfortunately his heart of darkness plagues us still. Which is why an offensive and deplorable book can be described by a serious scholar as "among the half dozen greatest short novels in the English language." And why it is today the most commonly prescribed novel in twentieth-century literature courses in English Departments of American universities." -Chinua Achebe <br /><br />Certainly, the institutions could do with assigning Heart of Darkness less (and Things Fall Apart more...or both together, if I had my druthers). But often, I hear people ask for this outmoded voices to be silenced altogether. I'm not so certain. <br /><br />In a follow-up post, I'd like to ask questions about what we mean when we talk about censorship. Umberto Eco has written about "the censorship of silence" versus the "censorship of noise." In the former, people try to silence a person or book by silencing its voice. But Eco also sees a form of censorship in the signal-to-noise ratio of a society (or a propagandist institution) blocking out all other voice by sheer volume. <br /><br />I hope the thoughts will connect somehow, but I can't promise it. :)<br />DannyDonthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02303868841170247413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214531909685193256.post-2619555077592013882012-11-05T12:26:35.240-05:002012-11-05T12:26:35.240-05:00Mike,
Thank you for the response. For the most pa...Mike,<br /><br />Thank you for the response. For the most part, I agree. That tends to be the position that many of us in YA publishing take. But I would expand the examples past sexual or violent material. What about works of unrelentingly vapid subject matter? What about work that pushes nothing but consumerist frenzy? What about stereotypical depictions of race & culture? I would call these harmful elements in work (that last example might have been an unfair plant :). <br /><br />I agree that if we put all YA books together, most would fit on the Bell Curve of generally unchallenged material. But I can also name lots of books I wouldn't give to a kid. And I wonder often about my reasoning for WHY I would push those books out. <br /><br />My question is: If we acknowledge that their is harm, and if we acknowledge that limitations should be placed on objectionable material, are we then just going down the road of deciding which offenses are worse than others? DannyDonthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02303868841170247413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214531909685193256.post-91070741239361308232012-11-05T10:08:43.680-05:002012-11-05T10:08:43.680-05:00I agree that where there is power, there is the po...I agree that where there is power, there is the potential for good and bad. <br /><br />I also agree with Mike that, as a whole, the body of YA literature has a strong moral center. Negative behavior is almost always put in context. Perhaps not every reader will be sophisticated enough to process a given writer's artistic approach, but advanced readers need books that challenge them, too. <br /><br />That said, we are not immune to, say, sexism or racism (the latter primarily by omission) on our shelves, and in fact, the children's-YA community has been quite vocal about such issues, their consequences, and the need for change.Cynthia Leitich Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07650058326282279022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214531909685193256.post-75826472952252456822012-11-04T20:12:16.099-05:002012-11-04T20:12:16.099-05:00The two positions are not at odds. I've only r...The two positions are not at odds. I've only read roughly 3,000 YA novels, so I can't speak for the whole literature, but the YA novels I've read portray the results of negative behavior honestly, often brutally so. Perversity of any kind, violent or sexual, has consequences which are realistically depicted in YA literature, and this realistic depiction stands in stark contrast to much of the content in more powerful media such as film, television, and video games. YA literature has a profoundly positive effect not despite its edginess, but BECAUSE of it. These books allow readers to imagine--and avoid--darker paths their lives might otherwise have followed. Which is why efforts to censor YA literature do the most damage to those they're ostensibly designed to protect: kids.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15705584247681883936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214531909685193256.post-55761158716393077932012-11-04T13:47:15.586-05:002012-11-04T13:47:15.586-05:00A brave and thoughtful post. These issues are wort...A brave and thoughtful post. These issues are worth talking about and I think you make some excellent points.R.J. Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04503519800068573393noreply@blogger.com