Banned Books Month: Guest Post from Lex Hrabe, of the duo Lex Thomas: Write to Get Banned!
Look, banning books is goofy. It’s desperate, medieval thinking, driven by misguided fear. It’s a whole lot of chest-thumping done by outraged parents and administrators trying to keep a tight grip on their jobs. Which, I have to say . . . I totally get. What parent doesn’t harbor some sort of anxiety about how to handle the moment their child gains a full, spotlit awareness of sexuality? And if you were a school administrator, with your plate already full with parental complaints, wouldn’t you, at least for a moment, think, “My day would be a hell of a lot easier if that English class read WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS instead of Sherman Alexie.”
Egmont USA, June 2014.
Here’s the thing — there’s no stopping an idea from catching fire.
Usually, banning a book blows up in a censors’ faces. Sometimes, it doesn’t. But always, it ends up with more kids reading a particular, banned book than ever before. It’s a pretty simple equation. You say, “Whatever you do, don’t look at that. Then I say, “Okay, I won’t,” and I go off and look at it. Why? Because curiosity is a defining trait of humanity (pick any page in a history book for proof).
Kids want to know the truth. Their brains are built to hunt it down. And trying to hide it only makes those hiding it lose credibility. Which brings me to my point — if you write for kids, write to get banned. Even if you’re a parent or a school administrator, once you start a novel, the only thing you should be is a writer. Backlash be damned, your readers are relying on you to tell the truth. And as dangerous as that can feel sometimes, you have a responsibility to pull no punches. You’re not helping anyone by perpetuating cliche or giving soft treatment to real issues. If you feel like you’re writing something dangerous, whether it’s one line of dialogue or every sentence in your book, cling to that feeling. Dare to go there. Because if you don’t, you will change no one’s life. You will influence no one’s thinking. Absolutely no one will love reading because of your book.
It’s nearly impossible to know what’s going to offend someone. The fact that HARRY POTTER has landed on the banned book list is testament to that. So, consider this. If you have the opportunity to break new ground and you do pull your punches, somebody on the internet is still going to be pissed at you for it anyway. Guaranteed. If people are going to be cursing you anyway, wouldn’t you rather have written the book that was in your heart? Why censor yourself when there are plenty of people, ready and willing to do it for you?
Lex Hrabe.
Lex Thomas is the pen name used by the screenwriting team of Lex Hrabe and Thomas Voorhies. Lex Hrabe was a Drama Geek in high school as well as student body president. Lex received a BA in Drama and English from the University of Virginia and has worn hats as an actor, director, and writer. In addition to working as a screenwriter, he heads development at Cinespire Entertainment, a boutique production company. Lex Hrabe lives in Virginia. You can find Lex Thomas at www.lex-thomas.com
