Huckleberry Finn Gets White-Washed

There has been a great deal of academic strum und drang this week over a new edition of "Huckleberry Finn" in which the N word is being replaced by "slave".  In today's TIMES, the queen bee of literary criticism Michiko Kakutani throws her critical hat in the ring while also trying to calm the tempest.

As she acutely points out, Mark Twain's seminal work seems to create a cultural firestorm on a semi-regular basis as people continue to debate the worth and meaning of this undeniably Great American Novel, one which doesn't quite suit our contemporary tastes.  Overall, she gives a concise history of the ancient and annoying human habit of trying to santizie everything from the Bible and Shakespeare to Normal Mailer, who famously used "fug" instead of the F word in his classic "The Naked And The Dead".

One fact she doesn't point out, perhaps because it's so obvious, is that the original author-approved version of "Huck Finn" will continue to be available in libraries and bookstores here and around the world.  It's really going to be a matter of choice and, frankly, I'd hope that most high school English teachers with something resembling a brain would refuse to teach this historically incorrect version of the story.  The fact is, though, that Twain's novel is in the public domain and has been for many decades, meaning that if you'd like to publish your own version of Huck with all the slow parts or endless digressions taken out (and there are a few!) you are free to do so.  As people sometimes forget, that uber-American principle of freedom of speech is a two-sided coin.

PROM MESS is Popular for 2009

This is something I meant to post back in July but it got lost in the rush of summer...and my near-miss book banning. Anyway, my first novel, A REALLY NICE PROM MESS was named by the ALA (American Library Assocation) as one of its Popular Paperbacks of 2009!

Each year, YA librarians from around the country nominate their favorite books and the vote on the best of the year. They created four categories for YA books and I'm in "Journey>Destination" which is described as books where the journey and the lessons learned on it are greater than the destination.

It's a great honor to be recognized by librarians especially because you know they read a helluva lot of books. :) Also, I loved the one sentence synopsis they gave of the book too: "Cameron and his boyfriend’s night to remember: puke in the fish tank is only the beginning." Who knew that puke scene would be so memorable?

Everything I Know I Learned In Band Camp

That is a summary of my life in 8 words that I was recently asked to create for my new author page on Simon & Schuster's website. I also had to answers tons of crazy/embarrassing questions about everything from my greatest fear to my pet peeve. Actually, my pet peeve was answering questions about myself. (ha) But I have to say, it was prettty fun filling it out, though it did take a while. There were something like 30 questions and I still have a few more to get to. There is also an "author doodle" which I need to work on with something other than my laptop. If you're interested, some other S&S authors have done some nice artsy work w/their drawings...you can check them out on the main author page.

Someone Wants To Ban My Book

You would think in 2009 that talk of actually banning books would be a thing of the past. Well, not in West Bend, Wisconsin where local Christians are in an uproar about books promoting the "gay lifestyle" at their local library. The big difference now is that they are not using the word "ban" but instead, asking for the books to be "not carried', "recategorized for adults" or placed in the "Reference section". These people are getting smarter...and scarier too.

Recently, CNN reported on this story which actually started back in February when West Bend couple Jim and Ginny Maziarka left a letter in the library's overnight book drop containing a list of 38 books (including my first novel "A Really Nice Prom Mess") which they wanted removed from the Young Adult section of the West Bend Library due to the portrayal of gay characters and so-called "pornographic" situations. Additionally, they asked the library to remove a page from their website which listed 58 LGBT YA titles. In early June, after a contentious public meeting and circulated petitions, the library's board voted not to remove the webpage or the YA titles putting the issue to rest...for now.

Yesterday, I got in touch with West Bend's wonderful YA Librarian Kristin Pekoll, who informed me that there are currently no challenges to these books and all the listed books remain availble in the teen section. Which is where they belong. I mean, can you imagine someone looking for a book about a gay dude going to prom in the Reference section?! They'd never find it...which was exactly the point. However, the Maziarka's have promised to continue their efforts to rid the library of these books and have even suggested a list of other titles the library should add to their collection; charming books like "The Battle for Normality" and "Homosexual No More"(!).

All this is to say that the fight goes on. Personally, I'm thankful for librarians and staff like the group at West Bend who fought and won their skirmish in this ongoing battle. Each year there are more than 500 book challenges at libraries across the US. In fact, earlier this month the American Library Association celebreated it's annual Banned Book Week as a way to keep people vigilant about this persistent and insidious threat. As Oscar Wilde put it so well, "“There is no such thing as a moral book or an immoral book. Books are well written or badly written. That is all.”