the gentle madness

Fight Censorship!

• Sherman Alexie novel officially banned from Missouri school
  A disappointing ruling came out last night regarding Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian in Stockton, Missouri. The Stockton School Board voted 7-0 holding firm in its decision to remove the book from school classrooms, notwithstanding pressure from many educators to keep it. The board also ruled in favor of banning [...] […]
• How Obscene is This! The Decency Clause Turns 20
  When it was founded in the 1960s, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), a central part of its  mission was to support individuals and institutions producing edgy and innovative artwork. Twenty years ago, as a result of pressures on behalf of Republicans in Congress and the religious right, Congress amended the statute governing the [...] […]
• NCAC Protests Cancellation of Ellen Hopkins Appearance at Teen Lit Fest in Texas
  An invitation to young adult novelist Ellen Hopkins to speak about her experiences as a writer was rescinded by the Superintendent of the Humble (Texas) Independent School District after some parents complained about the content of her books. NCAC coordinated a letter of protest with five other national organizations. After Hopkins was disinvited to Teen [.. […]
• The Artist Received an Apology
  The Executive Director of the Springfield Business Improvement District (SBID) in Massachusetts has issued a formal apology for painting over the underside of a resident artists’ artwork. Robert Markey was asked to paint a “sneaker” for the “Art and Soles” project – giant sneakers covered the town in hopes to illustrate “what makes Springfield great.”  [...] […]
• PEN American Center issues statement in support of Park51 Community Center
  PEN American Center, a member of NCAC’s coalition, released a statement in support of the proposed Park51 Community Center project, calling First Amendment freedoms “the birthright of all and our best defense.” NCAC is grateful to PEN for expressing thoughts we share about this fear-based controversy. The statement reads: As members of the American literary […]
• Book retained in Oklahoma because “we have to”
  The word “fuck” has caused quite a stir in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Its appearance – 45 times, according to parent and avid swear-word-counter, Kelli Smith – in young adult novel Shooting Star by Fredrick McKissack Jr. is reason enough for one parent to remove the book from school district libraries. Grudgingly, the Broken Arrow Board [...] […]
• Secrecy vs transparency in the struggle over gay rights
  The battle over same-sex marriage has taken many twists and turns.  One of the more unusual cases pitted the privacy rights of those who signed a petition to repeal a Washington law on domestic partnerships against supporters of the law who claimed the public records law required disclosure of the names of the petition signers. [...] […]
• Mermaid Sculpture Covered with Bikini Top in UK
  In the latest case of a nude sculpture causing a stir… Managers at Chessingtons Sea Life centre have covered up a topless mermaid sculpture. Justine Locker, Chessingtons Zoo Experience Manager, said: “Young boys, and not so young boys, spending a lot of time ogling her in the walkthrough ocean tunnel” (Courtesy of the Telegraph.) […]
• The Rabbit Proof Firewall
  China has been dominating censorship headlines recently, but, while we’ve been focused on the Great Firewall of China, a Great Firewall Reef has been growing in the democratic West. Australia has one of the harshest censorship regimes among the world’s democracies.  Films like Ken Park (Larry Clark) and Salo (Pier Paolo Pasolini) have been Refused Classifica […]
• Stagliano Case: A Hollow Victory?
  John Stagliano had his case thrown out by Judge Richard Leon early this week.  Rather than having been found not guilty based on the First Amendment, it was thrown out because the prosecution bungled their case, and the judge determined that not enough evidence was given to prove that Stagliano was involved with Evil Angel [...] […]