US Schools Experience a Revival of Book Banning, as "Milk and Honey" is Among the Most Frequently Banned Works

"Milk and Honey," which sold more copies than Homer's "Odyssey," was banned because it contains references to sexual assault and other forms of violence.

on Apr 28, 2023

US Schools Experience a Revival of Book Banning, as "Milk and Honey" is Among the Most Frequently Banned Works

According to data compiled by the nonprofit PEN America, Rupi Kaur's poetry collection "Milk and Honey," a blockbuster among young women worldwide, was among the works most frequently banned in American classrooms during the first half of the 2022–23 academic year.

"Milk and Honey," which sold more copies than Homer's "Odyssey," was banned because it contains references to sexual assault and other forms of violence.

According to the organization, 1,477 books were outlawed between July 1 and December 1, 2022. 44% of the 874 distinct titles that were prohibited dealt with violent themes. Other works on the list cover topics including racism, teen pregnancies, abortions, and sexual assault, as well as grief and death, LGBTQ+ characters, race and racism, and death or sadness.

The study illuminates the controversy surrounding the book-banning movement in American schools, which has recently had a revival and reached record highs in 2022. While some parents feel that novels are inappropriate for high school students because they deal with mature topics, educators argue that these books are essential to creating more diverse classrooms.

"In high school, I can still recall reading novels on sexual assault because I was alone and had nowhere else to turn. Many students live in this reality. We all seek solace in reading fiction that echoes our own experiences, Kaur claimed on social media.

Other well-known novels on the list include Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale: The Graphic Novel," Toni Morrison's "The Bluest Eye," which is also one of Canada's most problematic books, and "Gender Queer: A Memoir" by Maia Kobabe.

"Book bans and censorship have increased in classrooms and school libraries across the United States thus far in the 2022–23 academic year. In its study, PEN America, a group promoting freedom of expression, noted that there were more book bans during the fall 2022 semester than in any of the previous two semesters.

Language like "fat" and "crazy" was deleted from numerous Roald Dahl novels in February because it was rude and lacked diversity. This caused an uproar.

Following the criticism, Dahl's publisher declared it would print an unchanged "classic collection" of the offending works.

The Dahl modifications have rekindled debates about whether it is more necessary to keep significant literary works alive than stop using language supporting prejudice in literature.

The Toronto Public Library unveiled its new Book Sanctuary Collection, which includes 50 adult, adolescent, and children's books that were prohibited, challenged, or edited in schools or libraries across North America. The same month the Dahl modifications prompted public controversy.