The Absolutely True Diary of Real-Time Book Censorship

Another day, another attempted book banning. In February 2014, a grandparent in Meridian, Idaho filed a formal complaint with the school district against including Sherman Alexie’s multiple-award winning YA novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian in curriculum being taught to sophomores in a public high school. (The grandparent apparently took issue with the “cursing and sexual references” in Alexie’s highly acclaimed story about the life of a modern Native American teen.) The complaint led to a public meeting of the school board on April 1st to discuss the issue and ultimately vote on whether or not to keep the book, which has been on “hold” since February, as part of the school’s supplemental curriculum. This is not the first time Alexie’s work has been on the chopping block (you can read just a couple of examples here and here), and I’m sure it won’t be the last, but it IS the first time I saw with my very own eyes this kind of book censorship unfold in real time – thanks to a librarian on Twitter who believes in the power of public discourse. Gretchen Caserotti, a public library director in Meridian, attended the meeting and tweeted the proceedings as they occurred. The result is (in my opinion) a fascinating and chilling snapshot of the decisions that go into the attempted banning of a book and an important exhibition of the kinds of problems that librarians, teachers, and others face when fighting censorship. My thanks to Gretchen for allowing me to compile and post her tweets about the meeting. Here they are in order (I also suggest that you view her timeline from that night for yourself for the most complete picture possible): https://twitter.com/gcaserotti/status/451142475898707968 https://twitter.com/gcaserotti/status/451149280724533248 https://twitter.com/gcaserotti/status/451181204314677248 https://twitter.com/gcaserotti/status/451182306410000384 https://twitter.com/gcaserotti/status/451182880249507841 https://twitter.com/gcaserotti/status/451183560037122048 https://twitter.com/gcaserotti/status/451184845650026496 https://twitter.com/gcaserotti/status/451185358273671168 https://twitter.com/gcaserotti/status/451185813296910336 https://twitter.com/gcaserotti/status/451186736878469120 https://twitter.com/gcaserotti/status/451186926498754560 https://twitter.com/gcaserotti/status/451187281500463104 https://twitter.com/gcaserotti/status/451187648955039744 https://twitter.com/gcaserotti/status/451188049670438912 https://twitter.com/gcaserotti/status/451188730619887616 https://twitter.com/gcaserotti/status/451189224155271169 https://twitter.com/gcaserotti/status/451189796489023489 https://twitter.com/gcaserotti/status/451190073380184064 https://twitter.com/gcaserotti/status/451190396161253377 https://twitter.com/gcaserotti/status/451190584753913856 Well, there you have it. While a motion to ban the novel outright did not pass, it’s still being held in a sort of censorship “limbo,” according to the Idaho Education News. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian might in fact get reinstated if district teachers are able to find an “appropriate substitute” (however that is actually defined). But until then, sorry, Mr. Alexie. Sorry, librarians and teachers. And most of all…sorry, teens of Meridian.