Freedom to Read Week (February 24 - March 2)

About a third of my life is spent around books - reading books, selling books, cutting books up and making stuff with them. I couldn't imagine not having books around me, and the idea of not having access to particular books because some people feel they are inappropriate for whatever reason (sex! swearing! homosexuality! drugs!) is something I can't even wrap my head around. But, it happens. And in learning a bit about Freedom to Read Week - an annual event that encourages Canadians to think about and reaffirm their commitment to intellectual freedom - I see that it happens a lot. Even here! In Canada! A lot of those novels you begrudgingly studied in high school (and would have really enjoyed had you just picked them up on your own and weren't told to read them) were challenged (if not straight up banned) in this country at some point and I wish that my English teachers would've spent a few moments having that discussion before shoving The Diviners down my throat. I mean, what better way to get a bunch of rebellious teens to read something than to tell them why a lot of people don't want them to read it? C'mon! To celebrate Freedom to Read Week and to promote its headline event, CENSORED (details below), I made some book mobiles to hang above a collection of challenged books in the window of TYPE - a place where you can find all kinds of provocative, profane reading material.

I know it hurts to see books chopped and screwed up like this, but if it's any consolation, they were damaged and bound for the pulp mill anyway. I like this idea of exploding, labyrinthine, tentacular pages coming to life, ready to unfurl and consume you the way books do.

Some of these mobiles will be all up in the The Garrison tonight for CENSORED, a story-telling event hosted by the Book & Periodical Council and Raconteurs featuring Lisa Charleyboy, Catherine Frid, Steph Guthrie, Ken Setterington, Susan Swan, and Bruce Walsh sharing personal stories of censorship. You should go!