I have compiled a list of ten authors you should check out during Banned Books Month. These authors’ works have been challenged or banned throughout their careers. In fact, they have the distinction of having appeared on the American Library Association’s Banned Books List multiple years for a myriad of reasons. At the end of this article I have also included a list of some of the books which have been most banned since the American Library Association started compiling yearly lists. A few of them might surprise you.
Nadine Gordimer
Her novels discuss anti-apartheid politics and sexuality in contemporary South Africa. Two of her most famous works, Burger’s Daughter and July’s People were condemned and banned in South Africa for their controversial, anti-governmental themes. Worldwide, Gordimer’s works have received overwhelming praise. In 1991, she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Gordimer was active in the anti-apartheid movement and supported HIV/AIDS causes.
Novels by Nadine Gordimer:
1953 The Lying Days
1958 A World of Strangers
1963 Occasion for Loving
1966 The Late Bourgeois World
1970 A Guest of Honour
1974 The Conservationist - joint winner of the Booker prize in 1974
1979 Burger's Daughter
1981 July's People
1987 A Sport of Nature
1990 My Son's Story
1994 None to Accompany Me
1998 The House Gun
2001 The Pickup
2005 Get a Life
2012 No Time Like the Present
Vladimir Nabokov
Lolita was dismissed as a work glorifying pedophilia and the exploitation of an innocent girl. As soon as it was published, Lolita was banned in the UK, as well as various other countries, and customs were instructed to seize all copies brought into the country. Years later, Nabokov’s wife and translator, Vera would write about Nabokov’s motives for writing Lolita. According to Vera, her husband was attempting to show the inner workings of a monster – a man who could justify his unspeakable behavior by blaming his victim and casting himself as the true victim. Nabokov’s novel has been recognized as a masterful work of tragicomedy and irony.
Novels by Vladimir Nabokov written in English:
(1941) The Real Life of Sebastian Knight
(1947) Bend Sinister
(1955) Lolita, self-translated into Russian (1965)
(1957) Pnin
(1962) Pale Fire
(1969) Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle
(1972) Transparent Things
(1974) Look at the Harlequins!
(2009) The Original of Laura (fragmentary, written during the mid-1970s and published posthumously)
Judy Blume
Next to Stephen King or Toni Morrison, Judy Blume is one of the most-banned authors in the United States. Her books are often challenged because of complaints by parents and religious groups who want them banned from public libraries and school reading lists. Blume’s frank discussions of puberty and taboo subjects such as masturbation, birth control and teenage sexuality were far ahead of their time. You might not know this, but Judy Blume also wrote several books for adults.
These are the adult titles by Judy Blume you should put on your reading list:
2005 - Wifey
2009 - Summer Sisters
2011 - Smart Women
2015 - In the Unlikely Event
1996 Nonfiction - Letters to Judy: What Kids Wish They could Tell You
Kurt Vonnegut
Throughout his career, Vonnegut pushed boundaries and mixed writing genres in order to create unforgettable characters and stories. Slaughterhouse-Five explores ideas of mortality, trauma and the violence of war. He was one of the first writers to depict gay men as victims of Nazi prejudice. It has been called blasphemous, immoral and obscene, and has been banned from multiple libraries. The head of a school board once burned 32 copies of the book to prevent it being taught in the classroom. You should read Vonnegut because of his storytelling abilities and his darkly humorous social commentary.
Novels by Kurt Vonnegut:
1952 Player Piano
1959 The Sirens of Titan
1961 Mother Night
1963 Cat's Cradle
1965 God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater
1969 Slaughterhouse-Five
1973 Breakfast of Champions
1976 Slapstick
1979 Jailbird
1982 Deadeye Dick
1985 Galápagos
1987 Bluebeard
1990 Hocus Pocus
1997 Timequake
James Baldwin
Baldwin is one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. His works explored issues relating to race, gender, sexuality, prejudice and inequality. They were often challenged and sometimes banned. Challengers objected to his works on the grounds they were sexually explicit bordering on pornographic for scenes of violence, rape, and degrading treatment of women. Other challenges included Baldwin’s use of profanity.
James Baldwin with Marlon Brando and Charleton Heston
Novels, Plays, Essays and Poems by James Baldwin:
1953 Go Tell It on the Mountain (semi-autobiographical novel)
1954 The Amen Corner
1955 Notes of a Native Son
1956 Giovanni's Room
1961 Nobody Knows My Name: More Notes of a Native Son
1962 Another Country
1963 A Talk to Teachers
1963 The Fire Next Time
1964 Blues for Mister Charlie
1965 Going to Meet the Man
1968 Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone
1972 No Name in the Street
1974 If Beale Street Could Talk
1976 The Devil Finds Work
1979 Just Above My Head
1983 Jimmy's Blues
1985 The Evidence of Things Not Seen
1985 The Price of the Ticket
2010 The Cross of Redemption: Uncollected Writings
2014 Jimmy's Blues and Other Poems
Gustave Flaubert
His work was critically acclaimed and denounced amid accusations of immorality during his lifetime. Madame Bovary was steeped in controversy: his heroine, the beautiful young frustrated Emma, whose disillusionment with marriage and provincial life, lead her down a path of infidelity and debt. The novel was banned in France, and Flaubert was placed on trial for offenses against public decency. Though I’m told, Flaubert should always be read in French, there is a certain beauty in his prose that withstands translation.
Major Works by Gustave Flaubert:
1837 Rêve d'enfer
1838 Memoirs of a Madman
1857 Madame Bovary
1862 Salammbô
1869 Sentimental Education
1874 Le Candidat
1874 The Temptation of Saint Anthony
1877 Three Tales
1880 Le Château des cœurs
1881 Bouvard et Pécuchet
1911 Dictionary of Received Ideas
J.K. Rowling
According to the American Library Association, Harry Potter is the most banned book in the United States. It has been criticized by the Iranian government’s press and banned from private schools in the UAE. Primary criticism of the series comes from religious groups, who claim the books promote occultism and witchcraft. The books are critically acclaimed and Rowling has been credited with inspiring multiple generations to read together. Rowling has also written adult fiction.
Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling:
J.K. Rowling reads from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone during the Easter Egg Roll at the White House. Photo by Daniel Ogren.
1997 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
1998 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
1999 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
2000 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
2003 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
2005 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
2007 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Novels for Adults by JK Rowling:
2012 The Casual Vacancy
Cormoran Strike series
2013 The Cuckoo's Calling
2014 The Silkworm
2015 Career of Evil
2018 Lethal White
DH Lawrence
Lawrence used changing relationships and sexuality to demonstrate the effects of modernization and industrialization on society in the early 20th century. He was often criticized for his use of highly sexualized language and depictions of sexual encounters. Challenged and banned in many countries, Lawrence’s works have been labeled pornographic and obscene, but his love scenes are among the most honest and intimate in literature.
Novels by DH Lawrence:
1911 The White Peacock
1912 The Trespasser
1913 Sons and Lovers
1925 The Rainbow
1920 Women in Love
1920 The Lost Girl
1922 Aaron's Rod
1923 Kangaroo
1924 The Boy in the Bush
1926 The Plumed Serpent
1928 Lady Chatterley's Lover
1929 The Man Who Died
Salman Rushdie
In 2008, The Times ranked him thirteenth on its list of the 50 greatest British writers since 1945.The Satanic Verses, Rushdie’s fourth novel was banned in 13 countries, including India, Sudan and Pakistan, for its supposedly blasphemous references against the prophet Muhammed.
Novels by Salman Rushdie:
1975 Grimes
Salman Rushdie with Senator Bernie Sanders
1982 Midnight's Children
1983 Shame
1988 The Satanic Verses
1995 The Moor's Last Sigh
1999 The Ground Beneath Her Feet
2001 Fury
2005 Shalimar the Clown
2008 The Enchantress of Florence
2015 Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights
2017 The Golden House
Toni Morrison
The American Library Association ranked The Bluest Eye as the second most banned book in the United States. It has been repeatedly challenged for its sexually explicit language and content. Along with The Bluest Eye, Beloved and Song of Solomon have been challenged or removed from school libraries and reading lists. Morrison’s works deal with emotionally charged subject matters such as sexual and racial violence. Morrison’s unflinching and brutally honest exploration of race and gender relationships throughout history and in contemporary society put her work in a class by itself.
Novels by Toni Morrison:
Toni Morrison lectures at West Point Military Academy, 28 March, 2013. Public domain.
1970 The Bluest Eye
1973 Sul
1977 Song of Solomon
1981 Tar Baby
1987 Beloved
1992 Jazz
1997 Paradise
2003 Love
2008 A Mercy
2012 Home
2015 God Help the Child
Frequently Challenged or Banned Books:
The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
Last Chatterley’s Lover by DH Lawrence
Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Ulysses by James Joyce
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
Animal Farm by George Orwell
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall
American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis
The Bible
The Communist Manifesto by Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Information for this article was taken from the American Library Association’s website, http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks
Nadine Gordimer at the Göteborg Book Fair 2010. 24 September 2010. Wikipedia.Author: Boberger. Photo: Bengt Oberger. Accessed 6 September 2018.
Vladimir Nabokov – Public Domain Photo
Judy Blume: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:JudyBlume2009.jpg English: 2009 photo of Judy Blume with a young fan. 16 May 2009. Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/clender/3536819177/ Author: Carl Lender of Flickr.com
Derivative works of this file: JudyBlume2009 (cropped).jpg. Accessed 6 Sept. 2018.
Kurt Vonnegut – Public Domain Photo
James Baldwin. Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. [Author James Baldwin with actors Marlon Brando and Charlton Heston.], 08/28/1963 Public Domain.
Gustave Flaubert – Public Domain Photo
J.K. Rowling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J.K._Rowling. English: J.K. Rowling reads from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone at the Easter Egg Roll at White House. 5 April 2010, 13:49:24. Source: Flickr: 100405_EasterEggRoll_683. Author: Daniel Ogren. 6 Sept. 2018.
DH Lawrence - Public Domain Photo
Salman Rushdie – Public Domain Photo
Toni Morrison gives a lecture at West Point Military Academy, 28 March, 2013. Public domain.
Photo collage - Aldous Huxley, George Orwell, John Steinbeck and Mark Twain - photos believed to be in the public domain.