The Airdrie Public Library (APL) will be hosting a reading marathon of books that have been deemed controversial, heavily scrutinized, or banned outright later this month to encourage open discourse and celebrate freedom of press.
The reading marathon will begin Feb. 21 and will continue through to Feb. 24, coinciding with Canada’s annual Freedom to Read Week – an event encouraging Canadians to think about and reaffirm their commitment to intellectual freedom, which is a right guaranteed under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
According to Wyatt Tremblay, communications coordinator for APL, the event is organized by the Book and Periodical Council of Canada and libraries all over the country participate in a variety of ways.
“This is how we have decided to [celebrate] this year, to read the books that are banned or challenged in Canada,” Tremblay shared. “It’s actually quite surprising – there are quite a few books that are quietly banned in Canada.”
The continuous live reading of banned books will take place for 10.5 hours each day from Tuesday to Friday, featuring texts such as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, The Great Gatsby, A Wrinkle in Time, and Animal Farm.
“We’ve all read Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone or Animal Farm, or Charlotte’s Web [which] has been turned into many wonderful, animated movies,” Tremblay shared. “But depending on a person’s beliefs or ideologies, these ideas can be offensive to them. In some schools, towns, cities, there are people who wish to not have [these books] available and that’s what Freedom to Read Week is all about – this commitment to intellectual freedom.
“If you don’t want to read Animal Farm, you don’t have to read it.”
Tremblay added there will also be a children’s reading event between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 21 and 22, while the continuous read will start at the library’s opening until they close, from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
He said in addition to the continued reading and children’s read, there will also be a poetry evening on Wednesday night from 7 to 8:30 p.m. called “Char Every Page,” featuring a type of blackout poetry where you black out certain words using banned books to create a poem.
Lastly, there will also be a display called “Red Hyphen Strict Literature” featured at the library during the week.
Though APL is still seeking readers for the marathon, so far, City Coun. Tina Petrow, local artist Veronica Funk, and a couple of RCMP officers have volunteered to take part.
For those interested in volunteering to be a reader, a comfy chair with a stack of banned books will be provided and titles will encompass all reading levels, from picture books to novels.
“At the beginning of the week, the book at the top of the stack will be cracked open and our first reader will begin to read from the beginning,” stated an APL press release. “When done, this reader will pass the book onto the next reader who will settle into the chair and pick up where they left and so on.”
The cycle will continue until the book is finished and the next book on the pile has begun and the library is ready to close for the evening. Each morning, the reader will open the book where it was closed the night before. Readers can volunteer for any amount of time, in 15-minute increments, and are encouraged to contact APL to reserve a spot.
