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It is unfortunate that such a worthy event – a literature festival for teens in our area – is now overshadowed by this situation. I agree with you, Ed, that this is indeed censorship
and, having worked on projects with some of the folks on the planning committee, it’s doubly disappointing. Congratulations to Julia Watt on her invitation to the Southern Festival of Books!
Dr. Cindy C. Welch
Clinical Associate Professor
School of Information Sciences
UT Experience Learning Fellow
The University of Tennessee
Phone: 865-974-7918
From: Tennessee Library Association and other Tennessee librarians <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Ed Sullivan <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Friday, September 6, 2019 at 9:05 AM
To: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Knoxville News Sentinel on KCPL's LitUp Teen Festival
Regarding the article in today's
Knoxville News-Sentinel, I am deeply troubled that Mary Pom Claiborne, KCPL's Assistant Director of Marketing and Communication, has such an apparently poor understanding of censorship. She argues that excluding Julia Watts from the festival is not censorship
because some of her books are on KCPL's shelves. Censorship is not just about banning books. Excluding an author of teen novels from participating in a festival for teens because she has published books for adults
IS CENSORSHIP.
Claiborne further says, "The library did not expect Watts to read from or reference the adult material, but it didn't want to be perceived as promoting her entire
body of work at a festival for young teens." If festival organizers did not expect Julia to read from or discuss her adult books, then how would KCPL be endorsing her entire body of work? Julia's mere presence at the festival is an endorsement of her so-called
"erotic" writing? The reasoning is appallingly absurd. KCPL's annual Children's Festival of Reading has repeatedly featured authors who write for children, teens, and adults, yet there was no concern about promoting their whole bodies of work. What is to account
for this astonishing hypocrisy?
Julia's exclusion from the festival is contrary to the principles of intellectual freedom and professional ethics all libraries are obliged to follow. I hope
the other authors invited to participate in the festival will follow Marilyn Kallett's principled lead and withdraw.
Edward T. Sullivan, M.S.L.S.
Friend of KCPL