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Once-banned books banned publicly in Carbondale

By Blackwell Thomas, The Southern

Friday, October 3, 2008 8:50 AM CDT

CARBONDALE - There aren't many places one would find 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone' in a lineup next to James Joyce's 'Ulysses.'

But that was the case Thursday evening at the Longbranch Coffee House where about 40 people gathered to listen to selected readings from books that have, at one time, been banned.

The reading was organized by staff from Southern Illinois University Carbondale's Morris Library in recognition of the American Library Association's celebration, Banned Book Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read.

SIU Assistant Librarian Melissa Hubbard said she hopes the reading at Longbranch serves as a reminder of the importance of the freedom to read what you please.

"Some of the books we consider the best books were, at some point, banned because people deemed them obscene, heretical or seditious," she said. "We read the books because we believe everyone should have the freedom to read what they choose and we want to celebrate that freedom."

In the back of the café the crowd gathered and listened quietly as each speaker read a short passage from his or her chosen book.

Jonathan Nabe, who works at Morris, said he chose Charles Darwin's 'The Origin of Species' because it's one of the most important books of the 19th century. The book, which lays the foundation for evolutionary theory through natural selection of species, was banned in Tennessee until 1967.

"It's also the most boring book on the list, with the possible exception of Ulysses," Nabe said, drawing laughs from the crowd.

Before reading from 'Ulysses,' Hubbard seemed to confirm that the book might just be a cure for sleeplessness by relating some of its history, including its banning in the U.S. in the 1930s.

Ultimately, she said, "the judge ruled it too boring to be obscene."

Before reading his passage from 'Zen Buddhism: Selected Writings' by D.T. Suzuki, Matt Borowicz said the book had been banned in Michigan.

"The concern was that it might flip people's world on their head and make them -- abandon Christianity and become Buddhist," he said. "It kind of did with me, so maybe they had a point."

blackwell.thomas@thesouthern.com / 351-5823