Books - powerful and vulnerable, all at the same time...

Recently at the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival I was asked about my stance on whether we should censor the content of children's and young adult's literature in terms of contentious themes or the inclusion of sex, violence or profanity. I answered, saying what I believe to be true about whether readers need protecting or not. I think children are self limiting. Either they will decide it isn't for them and stop reading or it will be inaccessible to them as a result of their level of maturity (it will go over their heads). Or they will be ready for it, and frankly, a book is a much better way to come across such material where it is presented in context and provides a springboard for understanding and/or discussion. Sometimes it is material that provides wider understanding of an issue and makes them more empathetic. Humanity could definitely do with being more empathetic. Sometimes it is reflecting their own experience and helps them to feel less alone. The most excellent and wise author Judy Blume spoke to the same question here. Or you can hear the mellifluous Benedict Cumberbatch reading out Kurt Vonnegut's impassioned letter to a school district regarding the censorship of his books here. Children and young adults are far more likely to be harmed by the people they know than by the books they read.

And the intramaweb has been aglow with talk of the stoush between Hachette and Amazon. I don't know all the ins and outs. But I think Chuck Wendig's run down on the issue is useful and kinda reflects my own opinions if you want to take a closer look. I'm still looking to be the cork on the ocean.

And a few years back I had a meltdown over Joel Stein's New York Times editorial suggesting adults should not demean themselves by reading young adult or children's books. Obviously as far as Mr Stein was concerned, children's and YA books would never deal with issues or themes that could be of interest or value to adults. He mentioned The Hunger Games, which he had never read. Perhaps he should have come down off his high horse and read the trilogy. This week, this appeared. While the books are a work of fiction, the issues they contain represent real social concerns and author Suzanne Collins has spoken about the different real life events and real world problems that informed her work. And while Guardian journalist Jonathan Jones says the trilogy (and associated movie franchise) is not a manual for changing the world, the themes and concerns present in the books (and movies) have resonated with people and use of the symbolic gesture in the books have provided a platform for drawing wider attention to their fight.

The kids are alright...

When I read this opinion piece in the New York Times by Joel Stein where he exhorts adults to put aside any literature that doesn't stretch their minds, in particular YA or children's books, I thought my head may explode off the top of my neck. Some suggested the piece was intended as satire but unfortunately this kind of inflammatory self-congratulation only serves to reinforce the perpetual perception of YA and Children's writing as inferior to adult writing. I wasn't amused, or amazed by Mr Stein's wit, because his words were too busy bricking up the wall between adult literature and children's literature. And for those commentors who suggested its alright to read YA or Children's lit just for a bit of light relief or entertainment, that's not entirely helpful either (although readers of any literature should be able to escape within the pages of a good book no matter who it's written for). To suggest that only adult literature can educate, expand or clarify our thinking is myopic. It is arrogant to assume adults can only benefit intellectually from adult literature.  Have you read Bernard Beckett's "Genesis", or perhaps Mo Willems "We Are In A Book"? What about Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" series, Meg Rosoff's, "How I live Now" or Wolf Erlbruch's "Duck, Death and the Tulip".  It is arrogant to assume that only adult thinking is sophisticated. It is frustrating for those who write for younger audiences to have their work dismissed as lacking subtlety, characterisation, or any intellectual, psychological, and/or emotional depth. Sometimes the most impressive aspect of a great children's book is how a difficult or sophisticated concept is presented in a simpler or more accessible form without any loss of meaning. It is fair to say not all books for children and young adults have emotional, psychological or intellectual depth but then neither do all books for adults. Denigrating a whole section of literature because of its potential audience ( a category or designation applied by adults looking to maximise profits not necessarily benefit the reader) suggests a certain ignorance which no amount of book reading may fix. Its divisive. And damaging. You know Mr Stein, the kids are alright, but I think you need to read some more children's books.