Local writers tell why books shouldn’t be banned | News

The subject of the essay was what it means to have the freedom to read. The winning essays were read aloud and the banned book’s cover art was displayed at a “Reception for Intellectual Freedom” at Dom’s Bakery on D Street, North Wilkesboro.

Wilkes County Librarian Suzanne Moore said there is lively conversation about books that have been banned and why the freedom to choose what to read matters. Moore said the goal is to host the event annually.

The three winning essays follow.

“Why is it so important to you to be able to choose what you can read?

“Reading is something special. It is the putting together of letters that form words, resulting in a sentence and yet leading to a story. Reading gives you the opportunity to interpret your own version of a reality created by an author. Every person is different in this world. We choose things based on our five senses. Personally, I feel like the books I’ve read in my life have chosen me.

“Something about the book drew me to him. It could have been the cover, the smell of a freshly printed book, the feel of fresh unexplored pages, the vibrant colors or more than likely it was the summary on the back cover, a few words on that back cover that open a window into a world at which I may or may not be interested in joining.

“My choice to read what I want is important, but the most important element is my freedom to choose what interests me. Having every opportunity to read what I want is critical to my growth as an intelligent person. My ability to probe other people’s minds is fascinating. My agency breaks the chains of inadequacy and removes the limits of what my brain can absorb.

“Reading makes me smarter and gives me a glimpse into worlds I may never see physically. Being able to choose what I want to read opens doors for me that were often closed to me. Reading stimulates and increases my imagination. I can smell the flowers if they are adequately described. I can feel the pain and heartbreak as words come to life on the page.

“How dare anyone set limits on what I can personally read. The internet has made people lazy overall. A person can type in a simple question and get a variety of answers. When a person chooses to read and search for information about a subject, they must use their own mind to create these images and gain a deeper understanding of the subject. Why ban books when you can see so much atrocity on TV and the internet. People die for lack of knowledge. As long as we ban books, empathy, love and intelligence will continue to die at an alarming rate.

“Don’t ban books. It enables us to explore knowledge and worlds beyond our wildest dreams.”

“There’s a red folder I’ve kept for years. It contains stories I wrote as a child. It’s terrible fiction that will never see the light of day, but sometimes I find myself going through it.

“As I wrestled with the question of why it’s important for me to have the freedom to choose what I want to read, I re-imagined a story I wrote 10 years ago that I hid in this red binder. In short, it was a coming-of-age story about two middle school students about to enter high school. In the summer, they discover they had a crush on each other. It was entitled “Broken”.

“Looking back, the title was more of a reflection of me. I felt broken. Broken because of my orientation. Broken because of my skin color. But as I wrote and read, I found solace. That consolation could only come with the ability to choose what to read. Having that choice gave me the flexibility and space I needed to grow as a writer and as a person.”

“When Big Brother decides what I can read, he puts me in a box – a box that says conformity. Closed from all sides. windowless. doorless Colorless. It has no room for personal growth or the expansion of ideas. It keeps me atrophied and narrows my mind. Why is Big Brother doing this? He’s losing ground. He knows his days are numbered. He feels threatened.

“Freedom is big brother’s archenemy. If I can read what I choose, my box will open. I can rid it of useless and even harmful things. Once the dust has settled I can paint it any color I want. Maybe I can get Window World to sponsor my box. In any case, my box will have a whole new look. It will have skylights so I can see the universe at night like the James Webb telescope does.

“Better still, I can put whatever I want in my box. I can add new thoughts and ideas that never crossed my mind before reading about them. My box will expand, take on a new shape. It doesn’t exactly match any other box. It will be a snowflake, unique.

“And like snowflakes do, it will mix with other boxes. They combine to produce an effect greater than the sum of their separate effects. Your brainstorming will cover the earth with new, useful things. By the time of Big Brother’s inevitable demise, our ability to read what we choose will have created a new galaxy unlike any James Webb has ever seen.”