The New York Times recently asked several hundred leading editors, writers, professors, book critics and other literary experts to name the “single best work of American fiction published in the last 25 years.”
The winner was “Beloved,” by Nobel prize-winning author Toni Morrison — the one novel cited last fall by Kansas State Board of Education chairman Steve Abrams as an example of the kind of smutty literature that shouldn’t be taught in Kansas classrooms.
Of course, Abrams hadn’t read the book, just seen a few raw excerpts. But don’t think that mainstream professional opinion will sway Abrams — it didn’t in the evolution controversy, either.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
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15 Comments
Personally, not having read the book I wouldn’t know about it’s content, but the first problem is with the people who allegedly conducted the questionaire. Who were the so called leading experts and “MainStream” (a term that automatically raises suspision) professionals?I for one would could never consider anything done by the NY Times as anything other than creative writing. It would be entirely like them to simply say they questioned all these people and that is what they decided. They have done it before, and would certainly do it again. This fraud racked company has no crediblity and are known to falsify their content.The thing I find the most disturbing however, is why would editoral writers at WE spend so much time promoting the NY TIMES over the content of their own publication? Is someone sharing Board of Director’s chairs?
Of course mainstream professional opinion won’t sway Abrams opinion. If you were on the BoE you too would be an expert on everything and be able to make judgements without doing silly things like read the book you want to censor. What could mainstream professionals know that he doesn’t?
All this reminds me of the controversy surrounding James Joyce’s “Ulysses,” a book that was banned by the US Customs because it had four words listed as being obscene! Thing was, that while this book is considered one of the best and most influential books in the English Language, it is also one of the most difficult books to read. Anybody that read the book with the idea of getting tittilated by those four words was in for a rude awakening!
A similar event in art happened at the seminal 1912 Armory Show in Philadelphia. When the catalog for the exhibition was published, the influential moralist Anthony Comstock (think Falwell on steroids) read that one of the paintings on exhibit was entitled “Nude Descending Staircase” by some frenchman named Marcel Duchamp. He called the local constabulary and insisted that they raid the exhibit because of this obviously obscene work, and he offered to lead the raid himself, and personally destroy the painting. When they got there, this is what they found: http://www.idiom.com/~wcs/duchamp.htmlIt is a cubist work that shows the motion of the nude, rather than the nude itself. Comstock got laughed out of town over that raid.
Let me correct my last post- the Armory show was in New York, in 1913. Sorry!
I have not read “Beloved” nor I must admit even heard of it, that makes me one less then Abrams on the ignorance scale. Good writing, has conflicted, desire and tells a story, like Brokeback mountain I do not applaud it for furthering the story of gay sheep herders. I applaud it because of the personal conflict it tells about. Romeo and Juliet is not so much a story of young love which is not new, but of the struggle because of the love and what it must endure and overcome to even be. There is the story and what makes it a read.
Children should be guided not sheltered through the conflicts they will face. Else when such conflicts appear on their own. They have no guidance on how to deal with the conflict. Ignoring a subject does not make it go away, understanding a subject helps to face the subject.
As for me, I now want to learn more of this book “Beloved” it is an uncomfortable place being more ignorant then Abrams.
Jed,The lunacy of people attempting to ban certain books from the general public knows no bounds. For instance, Catcher in the Rye, Which, incidently, is a book I had to read while in Catholic school . . . go figure. Lord of the flies was banned in many cities because of its contents. Great books.
I agree: James Joyce is very difficult to read, as is Ayn Rand, but once you figure out their styles, very good reads.
Why would people try to ban books? Being as this is the information age, there is no hidding things anymore. And that’s as it should be. Parents have a duty to control what their kids read, but don’t deny them an education, and that comes from a wide varity of subjects. Let them have them.
To argue that “Beloved” should be taught in Kansas high school classes because it is a great piece of 20th century literature, or not be taught due to “morally-objectionable” content is to overlook a most-salient fact: great literature is written by adults for well-educated adult readers.
With the exception of 1 in 100 high school 9th graders, or most 12th grade students enrolled in AP English Literature & Composition, the complex ideas of great books go over the vast majority of teenagers’ heads. It requires extraordinary intellectual maturation to write them, and substantial intellectual maturation to comprehend them.
Disagree? Examine the essays that your high school children write about the books that are assigned them.
This is totally laughable. No one even mentioned that this book might be studied in Kansas schools, only that it would banned from being studied. Cart before the horse.
Teachers aren’t stupid. They won’t put this book on the recommended reading list for their students. Oh, there may be a renegade teacher or two that, to buck the system just for the hell of it, will give it a shot. But teachers are pretty savvy about what they can and can’t get away with. This is one of those ‘can’t’ situations. The BoE has already made that clear.
Well said KFG.
(She always gets alot said while I’m typing)
Editors? You truly have no idea the scope of talents and creativity and intellect of your bloggers. You’d do well to err on the side of overestimating us.
oops wrong thread that last.
Jed:My favorite story about DuChamp’s “Nude descending staircase” is that when Teddy Roosevelt first saw it he said:”Why that looks like an explosion in a shingle factory.”
He was right in that it does have this uncanny feeling of movement.
DD,Yeah, I’d heard that one. My favorites of Duchamp are his later Dadaist works.
I’ve read “Beloved,” and it gets my vote as the most depressing novel ever written.
As far as the best 20th century novel, “The Great Gatsby” is probably the most well crafted. “The Invisible Man” is very moving. “Ulysses” is the most ambitious.
How do you even go about picking the “best” one.
It’s like “One Love” by Bob Marley getting picked as the best song of the 20th century.
It’s a great song, but the “best?”
Hook,Yeah, it’s like a good 5/8 socket is wonderful if you’ve got a 5/8″ bolt to turn, but it’s pretty useless on a 3/4″ bolt.I don’t like these designations of books as “best.” There are good books and some not so good books. Once a book has made the “Good” category, it’s absurd to place it in some sort of heirarchy. One book may fit a person’s particular need at a particular moment, while at another time or with another person, a different book might be called for. For that poor cliche of a slob who’s stranded on a desert island, “Kline’s Practical Boatbulding” might be far more appropriate than “Gatsby.”