Article
When the question is just as important as the answer
The issue of censorship
May 11, 2012
Below is a selection of several discussions of and responses to poetry censorship. We hope that one or more of them get you thinking in new ways about the topic.
Artist Creates Poetry Through Censorship
Austin-based artist and writer Austin Kleon uses a black pen to omit words in already-printed texts – leaving poetic messages through ‘censorship’. Read more. . .
For the Common Good: Principles of Academic Freedom
The Illinois Wesleyan University AAUP reading group met on 29 September 2011 to discuss Matthew Finkin and Robert Post’s For the Common Good: Principles of Academic Freedom (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009). The discussion was framed by the censoring, earlier in September, of a student poet in Hansen Student Center. A student had his microphone turned off on the grounds that the poem he was reciting could have been offensive to those parents and children attending the poetry reading as part of Parents’ Weekend. Read more. . .
The Forbidden: Poems from Iran and its Exiles
The poems selected for this collection represent the young, the old, and the ancient. They are written by poets who call or have called Iran home, many of whom have become part of a diverse and thriving diaspora. Read more. . .
“Caught Between Poetry and Censorship”: The Influence of State Regulation and Sufi Poeticism on Contemporary Iranian Cinema Uses film to discuss poetry censorship in Iran
The deep-seated influence of poetry on both the creative and daily life of Persians cannot be underestimated according to Kiarostami. “In Iran, in conversation, the use of poetry is not limited to intellectuals, or poets, or even poetry lovers. Illiterate people, during the day, recite a couple of verses in order to relate to one another and express their viewpoints. Poetry in Iran pours down on us, like falling rain, and everyone takes part in it. Your grandmother, when she wanted to complain about the world – she complained in poetry. Or if she wanted to express her love for your grandfather, she expressed it with poetry.” Read more. . .
The Nature of Political Power (Robert Lowell ‘July in Washington’)
Producer Curtis Fox explores the diverse world of contemporary American poetry with readings by poets, interviews with critics, and short poetry documentaries. Nothing is off limits, and nobody is taken too seriously. In ‘The Nature of Political Power’, Robert Lowell's ‘July in Washington’ puts America in a vegetable context. Read more. . .
Have a comment or question about this article? Share it with us on Facebook, Twitter, or by e-mail.
Lately, we at Poetry International have had censorship on the brain.
The past month has seen the debate over Günter Grass’ poem and subsequent ban from Israel, the issue of censorship at the recent London Book Fair, where the China-themed event only allowed authors who “don’t upset the Chinese”. It has also witnessed the refusal of Remembrance Day event organisers to include a boy’s poem about his uncle, who joined the SS, in the commemorations, as well as the barring of Mexican-American author and poet Ana Castillo from visiting a Tuscon high school following Arizona’s attempts to remove Mexican-American literature from school curriculum. Later this week, a new collection of Taliban poetry will grace English-language bookshelves, and has already sparked a number of protests.
Is this censorship, or isn’t it? When do individuals, organisations and nations have the right to ban the general public from reading something, and when would this be an invasion of the right to free speech? What role does poetry play in politics, and should it be a more or less active one? The debates are endless, and the answer is often less interesting than the discussion itself.Below is a selection of several discussions of and responses to poetry censorship. We hope that one or more of them get you thinking in new ways about the topic.
Artist Creates Poetry Through Censorship
Austin-based artist and writer Austin Kleon uses a black pen to omit words in already-printed texts – leaving poetic messages through ‘censorship’. Read more. . .
For the Common Good: Principles of Academic Freedom
The Illinois Wesleyan University AAUP reading group met on 29 September 2011 to discuss Matthew Finkin and Robert Post’s For the Common Good: Principles of Academic Freedom (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009). The discussion was framed by the censoring, earlier in September, of a student poet in Hansen Student Center. A student had his microphone turned off on the grounds that the poem he was reciting could have been offensive to those parents and children attending the poetry reading as part of Parents’ Weekend. Read more. . .
The Forbidden: Poems from Iran and its Exiles
The poems selected for this collection represent the young, the old, and the ancient. They are written by poets who call or have called Iran home, many of whom have become part of a diverse and thriving diaspora. Read more. . .
“Caught Between Poetry and Censorship”: The Influence of State Regulation and Sufi Poeticism on Contemporary Iranian Cinema Uses film to discuss poetry censorship in Iran
The deep-seated influence of poetry on both the creative and daily life of Persians cannot be underestimated according to Kiarostami. “In Iran, in conversation, the use of poetry is not limited to intellectuals, or poets, or even poetry lovers. Illiterate people, during the day, recite a couple of verses in order to relate to one another and express their viewpoints. Poetry in Iran pours down on us, like falling rain, and everyone takes part in it. Your grandmother, when she wanted to complain about the world – she complained in poetry. Or if she wanted to express her love for your grandfather, she expressed it with poetry.” Read more. . .
The Nature of Political Power (Robert Lowell ‘July in Washington’)
Producer Curtis Fox explores the diverse world of contemporary American poetry with readings by poets, interviews with critics, and short poetry documentaries. Nothing is off limits, and nobody is taken too seriously. In ‘The Nature of Political Power’, Robert Lowell's ‘July in Washington’ puts America in a vegetable context. Read more. . .
Have a comment or question about this article? Share it with us on Facebook, Twitter, or by e-mail.
© Megen Molé
Sponsors
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère