This week is Banned Books Week, an annual event celebrating the freedom to read banned books that was launched in 1982. In response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries, this year's theme is "Books unite us, censorship divides us."
More than 2,500 books were banned in the nation's schools in the past year, according to PEN America. KMOX was joined by Kris Kleindienst, owner of Left Bank Books, to talk about the phenomenon.
Missouri is one of the states that recently enacted a law that bans explicit sexual content in books, and that could charge librarians with a class A felony for providing books to kids that some deem pornographic. Kleindienst said the law is concerning.
"The effect of this law immediately is to suppress access to actually very important literature," Kleindienst said. "And the overarching concern I have is that I feel like this is a setup for for this to be challenged, to go through the courts and to wind up sitting in front of our current Supreme Court, which could be have a disastrous effect on our First Amendment rights."
Many of the books banned recently cover race or LGBTQ+ identities and topics. Kleindienst said those topics are being singled out now more than ever.
"People of all identities need to be represented in the literature available in schools and libraries for so many reasons," she said. "And making it harder to have access to that literature can really cause more harm than good."
She said kids especially need to see themselves in books, and have somewhere to turn to process their own experiences in the world.
"Literature, and especially these books that are currently being banned, are so important in that crucial development, that which ties further to our democracy, our democratic freedom is really based, solidly I think, in freedom of expression and freedom to read," she said.
This week Left Bank Books will be putting on an event celebrating some frequently-banned books that will have a panel discussion, and they'll also have a booth at Tower Grove Pride where they'll hand out copies of the banned books.
Hear more from Left Bank Books owner Kris Kleindienst on banned books:
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