“Censorship Is So 1984. Read for Your Rights.” ALA

October brings Banned Books Week, a reminder of how dangerous censorship can be. The First Amendment protects our right to free speech—which includes not only the freedom to write, but also the freedom to read what we choose. This month’s #virginiacreates calendar addresses that subject directly.

In this collage I’ve included an “I Read Banned Books” bookmark alongside 2 covers of books that have been challenged - Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderlands and Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God.  Along with the quote from Katherine Paterson, 

“Reading can be a road to freedom or a key to a secret garden, which, if tended, will transform all of life.” 

"Once Upon a Time" with tags at the Morse Institute Library

Katherine Paterson, is an American writer best known for her children's novels.  Her book, Bridge to Terabithia, won the Newbery Medal in 1978 as well as been on the top 100 banned/challenged books since it's publication in October 1977.

I feel strongly that any form of censorship undermines the very fabric of our Constitution and the safe, imaginative space that creativity depends on. Right now, as our freedoms face increasing threats, this issue feels especially urgent.

look at these awesome tags!!
added after just a few days on display

In fact, the Natick Public Library invited me to create an installation for their October programming on banned books. The piece, Once Upon a Time, is participatory: visitors are invited to write the title of a banned book they have read, want to read, or want to reread on a tag, which is then added to the work. These tags are attached to a cape made of safety pins and beads that drapes over a tunic constructed from book covers—just a fraction of the many titles that have been challenged or banned in the U.S. Together, the piece grows as a communal celebration of literature, resilience, and freedom.

This year Banned Books Week is October 5 – 11, 2025 and the theme is “Censorship Is So 1984. Read for Your Rights.”  Many libraries and organizations celebrate the right to read for the entire month.  

With the escalation in attempts to ban books in libraries, schools, and bookstores around the country, George Orwell’s cautionary tale "1984" serves a prescient warning about the dangers of censorship. This year’s theme reminds us that the right to read belongs to all of us, that censorship has no place in contemporary society, and that we must defend our rights. https://www.ala.org/bbooks/banned