View Full Version : Invasion of the Expurgators
Maybe it’s my surname, but I’m disgusted by what the publishers of Roald Dahl’s children books are doing. They’ve brought in a group called “Inclusive Minds” to provide “sensitivity readers” to review and rewrite parts of “James and the Giant Peach”, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “Matilda”. In the near future, if you want the unadulterated original, you will need to go to a used bookstore.
Bowdlerizing children’s literature (or any literature) to protect the sensibilities of uptight adults seems to me to defeat the primary purpose of being fun to read. Shouldn’t such perversions at least be labeled as not the original works?
I hope these people keep their inclusive hands off Edward Gorey.
I agree that it's painful to mess around with culturally iconic works of literature.
But I have to admit, the first thing I thought of was the 60 Minutes piece a saw a couple of days ago of the cultural genocide of the Canadian Native Americans at the hands of the Canadian government and Catholic Church. I'm sure those practices were widely replicated in the US, but this piece just happened to focus on Canada.
It does hurt when people mess with one's tradition and culture. I'd rather no cultural invaders mess with James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but on the scale of outrageousness compared with what has happened in to Native and enslaved people at the hands of the colonial invaders, I'll give this a .2 on a scale of 0-10.
iris lilies
2-19-23, 11:21am
This book revision is silly and unnecessary.
This book revision is silly and unnecessary.
There seems to be a sort of woke industry rising up to meet our need to be told what to think and feel. The sensitive snowflakes of the Inclusive Mind Collective probably don’t think their paychecks are silly and unnecessary. The people creating websites to let us know which computer games are taboo because they were based on books by an author with taboo opinions are certainly interested in their click count.
iris lilies
2-19-23, 12:22pm
I could write pages about the woke police actions. Maybe I will write a bit about a couple of of the more egregious policing incidents.
Today my favorite bit of outrageousness is the college professor who showed, as a part of art history, a painting depicting the prophet Muhammad. Prior to the showing, she warned everyone in advance it would be shown. The particular piece of art she showed had been commissioned by a Muslim man centuries ago. It was not any sort of parody, it was a respectful depiction of Muhammad.
The woke police took her down on her college campus.
I wonder if any of them actually know the reason behind Mohammad banned in imagery?*
I doubt it.
* Muhammad images are only considered wrong in some Islamic circles, not in all circles. And not for the reason you would think.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/art-professor-sues-firing-showing-prophet-muhammad-images-rcna66250
iris lilies
2-19-23, 12:26pm
There seems to be a sort of woke industry rising up to meet our need to be told what to think and feel. The sensitive snowflakes of the Inclusive Mind Collective probably don’t think their paychecks are silly and unnecessary. The people creating websites to let us know which computer games are taboo because they were based on books by an author with taboo opinions are certainly interested in their click count.
I love it that J. K. Rowling is so fkng rich she cannot be canceled.
I hear the chattering of the poor poor oppressed Bandar-log.
iris lilies
2-19-23, 1:31pm
I hear the chattering of the poor poor oppressed Bandar-log.
who is the oppressed in your example? If you mean those charging Islamaphobic action:
If I were of woke stuff, I might gently point out that likening the complainant Muslim girl in this story, a young woman with dark skin, to monkeys in Kipling’s book is…problematic. I think you can see that.
See? The wokeness knows no bounds.
But since you may be referring to the oppressed here as the professor, well, I disagree. Being cancelled by losing your job is a rather outsized punishment for an action that was clearly meant in respect and sensitivity.
"Some animals are more oppressed than others."
who is the oppressed in your example? If you mean those charging Islamaphobic action:
If I were of woke stuff, I might gently point out that likening the complainant Muslim girl in this story, a young woman with dark skin, to monkeys in Kipling’s book is…problematic. I think you can see that.
See? The wokeness knows no bounds.
But since you may be referring to the oppressed here as the professor, well, I disagree. Being cancelled by losing your job is a rather outsized punishment for an action that was clearly meant in respect and sensitivity.
Wouldn’t Kipling be dismissed out of hand as an unreconstructed imperialist?
iris lilies
2-19-23, 3:12pm
"Some animals are more oppressed than others."ah! Yes! ;)
flowerseverywhere
2-19-23, 3:26pm
The captain of the woke police, Ron Desactimonious (Trumps nickname) is leading the charge
https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvmq54/florida-teachers-are-removing-classroom-libraries-to-avoid-going-to-jail
and then you have the Florida New College of around 700 students taken over as it was having money problems. Ron took it over and installed a new president making 600,000+ with a housing allowance of $84,000. In the name of the woke police. Bonus money can push this amount to over a million. Watch out folks. He may be the next president.
https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/2023/02/17/new-college-interim-richard-corcoran-salary-against-florida-schools/69908490007/
iris lilies
2-19-23, 8:57pm
The captain of the woke police, Ron Desactimonious (Trumps nickname) is leading the charge
https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvmq54/florida-teachers-are-removing-classroom-libraries-to-avoid-going-to-jail
and then you have the Florida New College of around 700 students taken over as it was having money problems. Ron took it over and installed a new president making 600,000+ with a housing allowance of $84,000. In the name of the woke police. Bonus money can push this amount to over a million. Watch out folks. He may be the next president.
https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/2023/02/17/new-college-interim-richard-corcoran-salary-against-florida-schools/69908490007/
Re: the school library issue: Probably more silly and unnecessary limiting going on here.
But honestly, I am confused. The “controversial law” represented as HB1467 linked in the Vice.com article is a 13 page draft law which I assume has been passed at some point. I read through all 13 pages. I don’t see anything outlandish and it mirrors a new Missouri law for public libraries that pretty much requires the same things which are:
1.the library is required to establish a collection development policy which considers the needs of its clientele.
2. Purchases of books should be made according to this policy.
3. The library needs to establish a complaint process whereby citizens may challenge materials held in the library.
4. This Florida law requires that, essentially, trained people make selections for their school libraries. I don’t remember what our Missouri law says about that. But since my public library’s policy also was exactly that, I can hardly quibble with it.
what I do not understand is the the draconian threats about felony actions for school media librarians that appear to be issued by the Florida Department of Education. I just don’t understand how the Department of Education makes anything a felony. It doesn’t.
But I am missing something major here and I can’t get to it based on your links.
I still need to poke around the web to find out more about this threat of felony charges because THAT is the real problem, not the 13 page “ controversial law.” That law is a nothing burger.
iris lilies
2-19-23, 9:49pm
The captain of the woke police, Ron Desactimonious (Trumps nickname) is leading the charge
https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvmq54/florida-teachers-are-removing-classroom-libraries-to-avoid-going-to-jail
and then you have the Florida New College of around 700 students taken over as it was having money problems. Ron took it over and installed a new president making 600,000+ with a housing allowance of $84,000. In the name of the woke police. Bonus money can push this amount to over a million. Watch out folks. He may be the next president.
https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/2023/02/17/new-college-interim-richard-corcoran-salary-against-florida-schools/69908490007/
i’m now clear about the picture the Vice.com article attempts to paint. Opening with a dramatic image (those empty bookshelves!) and using click bait title, pseudo-legit sources, and gossip, here is what happened in that article:
Vice.com set out to represent new and horrific censoring actions in schools, blaming parents and Republican legislators and probably implying Ron DeSantis is devil-leader.
Vice.com linked an official looking document which was (apparently?) a draft of a recently passed law, HB1467, a law that only updated existing law. It is 13 pages of reasonable requirements for schools and school libraries. I recommend you read it.
Vice.com showed an apparent directive from the Florida Department of Education that warned educators they were subject to a felony charge if in violation of criminal statute 847.012.
Florida Statute 847.012 is not recent or new, it did in fact exist long before Ron DeSantis took office. It is part of obscenity law in Florida and is about involving minors in obscene material. It is one of those laws used to charge creepy Uncle George when he gets his nieces into his basement and does unspeakable things to them which includes showing them adult porn. Probably most citizens agree with this law.
The screenshot in Vice’s article from the Florida Department of Education was authored, I am guessing, by some overly enthusiastic bureaucrat who wants to throw around his weight in reminding educators that they COULD be charged under statute 847.012. PERHAPS. This bureaucrat/goon may be an operative of Ron DeSantis, who knows? I could probably research that one, too.
Some teachers are scared and wrote to a blog. Vice.com included the anonymous blog post. Hmmmm, great journalism there.
Some school administrators are scared and MAY have issued directives to remove all materials from media center shelves until they could be checked against lists of approved library materials. But those school administrators aren’t talking, fact not established. More great journalism
In summary, I see nothing alarming here even though this situation touches on two of my pet issues. I do not want censorship going on in the public square and by governmental bodies, so when books are challenged I am on alert.
I do not want to see legislative bodies making more and detailed laws and so more laws and regulations about the operations of schools do not make me happy.
I did like the sneaky Vice.com comment about how a right wing group has “strategically placed its members on school boards across the state.” Oh, you mean citizens of the school district are exerting control over their schools? Shocking! (Not.)
This Vice.com article is manipulative and is mediocre journalism at best, exposing not much really, but creating a lot of noise about it.
Click bait for low information voters.
iris lilies
2-19-23, 10:53pm
Click bait for low information voters.
Good summary, thanks for the TLDR!
Recent polling indicates that only about 26% of adults trust the media to give them correct, unbiased information. I believe that the one anomaly to that is that at least 50% of adults believe every clickbait article the media produces regarding Governor DeSantis. It's their current cash cow.
iris lilies
2-19-23, 11:15pm
Recent polling indicates that only about 26% of adults trust the media to give them correct, unbiased information. I believe that the one anomaly to that is that at least 50% of adults believe every clickbait article the media produces regarding Governor DeSantis. It's their current cash cow.
One bright spot might be that if the media works as hard to elect Desantis as they did to elect Donald Trump, he could be the next President. I’m ok with that.
One bright spot might be that if the media works as hard to elect Desantis as they did to elect Donald Trump, he could be the next President. I’m ok with that.
He certainly seems to be leading in the hate primary. Although I am starting to see more digs at Nikki Haley for not being a colorful enough person of color.
I hate to keep pounding my spoon on my high chair about this, but now I’m reading that those inclusive minds decided to eliminate Conrad and Kipling from Matilda’s reading list and replacing them with Austen and Steinbeck. Can’t wait to see what these people do with “1984”.
I hate to keep pounding my spoon on my high chair about this, but now I’m reading that those inclusive minds decided to eliminate Conrad and Kipling from Matilda’s reading list and replacing them with Austen and Steinbeck. Can’t wait to see what these people do with “1984”.
I see that there is one sentence modified to remove Conrad and Kipling, and replacing it with Austen and Steinbeck, but I can't find changes to the actual book list yet. Maybe it hasn't yet been effected? https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/childrens-article/matilda-by-roald-dahl-extract
Here is a pic of the edits you're referring to. I do think the edits are going kind of far. I would hope that when/if they publish these edits, it is clearly written on the cover "Updated by XXX" and I do hope the original continues to be published and sold, simply with respect to the author. If they don't clearly state that the changes are not the author's, that's simply not right.
5210
... I do hope the original continues to be published and sold, simply with respect to the author. If they don't clearly state that the changes are not the author's, that's simply not right.
I suppose that depends on who owns the intellectual property.
I suppose that depends on who owns the intellectual property.
Yeah, I realize that.
rosarugosa
2-24-23, 6:19am
I think they should leave the originals as is. I remember reading an old original edition of a Nancy Drew mystery when I was probably about 10 years old. I was a big fan of Nancy's! In this one book, she referred to someone as a "darky," which horrified me. I recall processing it something along the lines of "wow, this is a very old book, and maybe that was considered OK back then, but it sure isn't OK now." I think it's OK for kids to read bad things, maybe even good for them to do so.
iris lilies
2-24-23, 8:55am
I think they should leave the originals as is. I remember reading an old original edition of a Nancy Drew mystery when I was probably about 10 years old. I was a big fan of Nancy's! In this one book, she referred to someone as a "darky," which horrified me. I recall processing it something along the lines of "wow, this is a very old book, and maybe that was considered OK back then, but it sure isn't OK now." I think it's OK for kids to read bad things, maybe even good for them to do so.
The last time we talked about this topic MsChris told her experiences in using outdated books like this as a teaching tool. You can value the story but also point out to readers parts that are not socially accepted today.
over on the Mr Money Mustache site they are drilling down into the anti-semitic tropes of Dahl’s “The Witches.” I am not sure how much of that I buy.
early morning
2-24-23, 9:18am
Yeah, rosa, the Nancys were redone ages ago. The Stratemeyer Syndicate started revising the Nancy Drew books 1 - 34 in the late 1950s and continued through the late 70s, to remove stereotypes and outdated language, and to update the characters. This is when Nancy's little red roadster turned into a rather bland convertible. The stories were also shortened - all ND books became 20 chapters, instead of the original 25. As Nancy has always been a popular hero, there are lots of older books out there, if anyone wants to read the originals. And I think another printer has re-released the first 20 or so in their original format. I don't have any of those, so I can't say if the language has reverted to original text or not. (sorry, can you tell I'm a fan? In fact, our next convention this fall will be in Salem, Mass. I love Salem, so I'm excited!! I'll wave in your general direction, lol)
So rewriting of fiction is nothing new... but I agree, it's not always bad for kids to read bad things. Of course it can be problematic - look at how many adults aren't able to separate fact from fiction, let alone apply thought processes to determine how to deal with what they have read (or heard).
I do agree with revisiting history when new facts come to life, or when points of view have changed. I hate that we insist that our heroes don't have any clay on their feet. Most of the larger than life figures of our history books were flawed humans, as we are all - who still, through circumstance, or will-power, or mental acuity, leaps of faith, whatever - did extraordinary things. I don't see why we should not look at them as HUMAN, the good, and the bad. Credit them for what they accomplished, but acknowledge the things they did that we no longer accept as ok.
iris lilies
2-24-23, 9:34am
Yeah, rosa, the Nancy's were redone ages ago. The Stratemeyer Syndicate started revising the Nancy Drew books 1 - 34 in the late 1950s and continued through the late 70s, to remove stereotypes and outdated language, and to update the characters. This is when Nancy's little red roadster turned into a rather bland convertible. The stories were also shortened - all ND books became 20 chapters, instead of the original 25. As Nancy has always been a popular hero, there are lots of older books out there, if anyone wants to read the originals. And I think another printer has re-released the first 20 or so in their original format. I don't have any of those, so I can't say if the language has reverted to original text or not. (sorry, can you tell I'm a fan? In fact, our next convention this fall will be in Salem, Mass. I love Salem, so I'm excited!! I'll wave in your general direction, lol)
So rewriting of fiction is nothing new... but I agree, it's not always bad for kids to read bad things. Of course it can be problematic - look at how many adults aren't able to separate fact from fiction, let alone apply thought processes to determine how to deal with what they have read (or heard).
I do agree with revisiting history when new facts come to life, or when points of view have changed. I hate that we insist that our heroes don't have any clay on their feet. Most of the larger than life figures of our history books were flawed humans, as we are all - who still, through circumstance, or will-power, or mental acuity, leaps of faith, whatever - did extraordinary things. I don't see why we should not look at them as HUMAN, the good, and the bad. Credit them for what they accomplished, but acknowledge the things they did that we no longer accept as ok.
You go to a Nancy Drew convention!!??? Cool!
iris lilies
2-24-23, 9:44am
In light of rewriting works from unpleasant authors, I was thinking about the Harry Potter books and could any character be portrayed as outwardly trans in the next edition. I googled around and found that a brand new trans character was introduced into the brand new Harry Potter franchise release game “Hogwarts Legacy” which came out last week. Much to the chagrin of trans activists, it shot up to #1 on the video games sales charts.
But this new character did not make trans activists happy, oh no, the naming of the new person is all wrong and is disrespectful, hate speech even. The new character’s name is “Sirona Ryan” and she is a trans witch who runs a pub. Apparently this hateful name makes deliberate reference to (in the minds of trans activists, mind you) the days when trans women were mockingly called “ Sir.”
You cant make this shit up.
Ultimately, isn’t this sort of nonsense the fault of the reading public who accept it? If some damaged creature on the periphery of publishing decides to airbrush authors out of the culture, isn’t it on us for buying what they sell?
If some twit who will never write anything worth reading wants to “protect” people from Conrad rather than let them draw their own conclusions, shouldn’t we just laugh them into the obscurity from whence they came?
I was reading this morning that one Stanford student photographed another reading “Mein Kampf” and anonymously denounced him through the university’s “bias reporting system”. Is that really something that should happen in a free society?
iris lilies
2-24-23, 10:15am
Ultimately, isn’t this sort of nonsense the fault of the reading public who accept it? If some damaged creature on the periphery of publishing decides to airbrush authors out of the culture, isn’t it on us for buying what they sell?
Sure it is.
honestly, I am not so sure the changes I read about will really affect the essence of his works. Dahl is kind of a gateway drug in children’s literature to more dark, interesting adult stuff. At least it was back in the days before Neil Gaimen. Even then, Gaimen doesn't do the funny sarcasm of Dahl. I think of “A Series of Unfortunate Events” by Lemony Snocket the title anyway, as in the Dahl tradition.
I used to think, and still do pretty much, that kids who read and fully embrace the great English fantasies go on to like better quality adult literature. My personal pet idea is that they NEVER branch off into loving Disney anything.
and speaking of Neil Gaiman who is hugely prolific, if anyone hasn’t read “Coraline” you need to. It is one of the creepiest things I’ve ever read.
I’m a big Gaimen fan. He must be pretty well steeped in mythology and fable to write stuff like “American Gods” or “Anansi Boys”.
I see the Dahl publishers are now going to publish both the original and Dahl-Lite versions. It will be interesting to see how their sales compare.
rosarugosa
2-25-23, 6:01am
IL: I will add Coraline to my list. I too have been following the conversation on MMM with interest. Apparently I have the perspective I do because I am an unenlightened person who is not a member of a persecuted minority group.
IL: I will add Coraline to my list. I too have been following the conversation on MMM with interest. Apparently I have the perspective I do because I am an unenlightened person who is not a member of a persecuted minority group.
Gaiman gets a lot of grief for cultural appropriation. My general opinion on that is that if you don’t like the way someone tells a story, you should write a better one rather than demand they do it for you.
rosarugosa
2-25-23, 10:38am
Yeah, rosa, the Nancys were redone ages ago. The Stratemeyer Syndicate started revising the Nancy Drew books 1 - 34 in the late 1950s and continued through the late 70s, to remove stereotypes and outdated language, and to update the characters. This is when Nancy's little red roadster turned into a rather bland convertible. The stories were also shortened - all ND books became 20 chapters, instead of the original 25. As Nancy has always been a popular hero, there are lots of older books out there, if anyone wants to read the originals. And I think another printer has re-released the first 20 or so in their original format. I don't have any of those, so I can't say if the language has reverted to original text or not. (sorry, can you tell I'm a fan? In fact, our next convention this fall will be in Salem, Mass. I love Salem, so I'm excited!! I'll wave in your general direction, lol)
So rewriting of fiction is nothing new... but I agree, it's not always bad for kids to read bad things. Of course it can be problematic - look at how many adults aren't able to separate fact from fiction, let alone apply thought processes to determine how to deal with what they have read (or heard).
I do agree with revisiting history when new facts come to life, or when points of view have changed. I hate that we insist that our heroes don't have any clay on their feet. Most of the larger than life figures of our history books were flawed humans, as we are all - who still, through circumstance, or will-power, or mental acuity, leaps of faith, whatever - did extraordinary things. I don't see why we should not look at them as HUMAN, the good, and the bad. Credit them for what they accomplished, but acknowledge the things they did that we no longer accept as ok.
Wow Early, you are a dedicated fan indeed! You will be just a stone's throw away from me. Did you get into Trixie Belden at all? I came to prefer her, because she and her friends and family felt a bit more true to life than Nancy.
early morning
2-26-23, 11:13am
I loved many serial series, old and new (at the time) - Nancy was just one of the pack. I read Trixie, and Annette (my twin cousin's name also!), Donna Parker, the Hardy Boys, The Little Colonel, Dorothy Dale, Cherry Ames, The Timber-trail Riders, and so many more- hours of fun with a free library card. I got more interested in Nancy when my oldest kid became a ND fan and collector, and we started doing some digging on Mildred Wirt Benson - the original Carolyn Keene. She was amazing! Born in Iowa in1905, she was an athlete, a journalist, a wife and mother, a pilot, an explorer/archeologist in South America, who grew up at a time when opportunities for women were much more limited. She received her pilot's license when was 59 years old. When she was in her early 80s, she applied for the NASA Journalist in Space program. She was still writing for the Toledo Blade at 97, turning in her last column of the day she died. I'm only sorry I never got to meet her!
catherine
2-26-23, 11:18am
I loved many serial series, old and new (at the time) - Nancy was just one of the pack. I read Trixie, and Annette (my twin cousin's name also!), Donna Parker, the Hardy Boys, The Little Colonel, Dorothy Dale, Cherry Ames, The Timber-trail Riders, and so many more- hours of fun with a free library card. I got more interested in Nancy when my oldest kid became a ND fan and collector, and we started doing some digging on Mildred Wirt Benson - the original Carolyn Keene. She was amazing! Born in Iowa in1905, she was an athlete, a journalist, a wife and mother, a pilot, an explorer/archeologist in South America, who grew up at a time when opportunities for women were much more limited. She received her pilot's license when was 59 years old. When she was in her early 80s, she applied for the NASA Journalist in Space program. She was still writing for the Toledo Blade at 97, turning in her last column of the day she died. I'm only sorry I never got to meet her!
What a cool person! I never knew that, and I was also a Nancy Drew fan, although clearly not as big a fan as you!
I remember finding a Ruth Fielding of the Red Mill book somewhere, and a few others from that series or author--talk about old-timey, it was written in 1913. 5224
iris lilies
2-26-23, 12:16pm
I can’t join the love fest for Nancy Drew and the old series books, sorry! But I think it is great that you all enjoyed them. I remember reading the Five Little Peppers and thinking it was fairly stupid but I had to read it because I’d run out of reading material. I tried a couple of Nancy Drews, but didn’t care about the mystery, and still to this day do not care about whodunits. My mother tried to get me to like a book she loved when she was a child, Freckles, by Gene Stratton-Porter but I thought it was the most treacly yucko stuff I’d ever read.
I didn’t have much tolerance back then for children in books who are always trying to be good like the Peppers and, frankly, the girls in Little Women even though I liked the March family much better, and I LOVED Alcott’s Eight Cousins and the later Rose in Bloom.
My general memory of English books is those kids weren’t always trying to be good. They were out on adventures.
For some reason, I never read the Anne of Green Gables books, but I might’ve dipped into one and run away from it, not sure. I tried most all of the classics at one time or another.
rosarugosa
2-26-23, 2:45pm
Early: That is so interesting about the original author!
IL: Have you read the Eloise books? I adored her and suspect you would like her as well. Totally different type of book but still children's books. My first was Eloise at Christmastime. She was not particularly noted for being well-behaved, but she was ever so delightful!
iris lilies
2-26-23, 3:58pm
Early: That is so interesting about the original author!
IL: Have you read the Eloise books? I adored her and suspect you would like her as well. Totally different type of book but still children's books. My first was Eloise at Christmastime. She was not particularly noted for being well-behaved, but she was ever so delightful!
I read the Eloise books. They are a little bit too precious for me to love them but I don’t mind them. My favorite American heroine of about that age is Ramona Quimby.
I never read any of Beverly Cleary books--odd because she lived nearby, and my parents didn't know her either.
I liked Elizabeth Enright's books (A Spiderweb for Two) and Dean Marshall's Invisible Island.
rosarugosa
2-27-23, 5:49am
I read the Eloise books. They are a little bit too precious for me to love them but I don’t mind them. My favorite American heroine of about that age is Ramona Quimby.
I don't recall Ramona. Either I never met her or she did not make a big impression on me.
I don't recall Ramona. Either I never met her or she did not make a big impression on me.
I read Ramona to my 4th grade classes for at least 10-15 years. I loved her spunk.
iris lilies
2-27-23, 10:27am
I don't recall Ramona. Either I never met her or she did not make a big impression on me.
I did not read the Ramona books until I was well past childhood. Even though Ramona did show up in early Beverly Cleary books, the Ramona series focused on her were not produced until quite a bit later.
I remember finding a Ruth Fielding of the Red Mill book somewhere, and a few others from that series or author--talk about old-timey, it was written in 1913. 5224
Your book reminds me of the ones my father collected, which included the Jerry Todd series, so I was able to read all those when I was really young. The only one I really remember is Jerry Todd and the Talking Frog.
And now the sensitivity readers and language police have come for PG Wodehouse. Exactly the sort of people he used to make fun of are editing his work to make it “safe” for the fragile feelings of brittle brains.
You have to wonder if they have any sense of irony.
DD sent me an article about a small town near her (Llano TX) that is fighting over books to be banned. I noticed the Night Kitchen was on the list. Ridiculous?
iris lilies
4-18-23, 5:43pm
DD sent me an article about a small town near her (Llano TX) that is fighting over books to be banned. I noticed the Night Kitchen was on the list. Ridiculous?
Sendak’s In The Night Kitchen has been a challenged book for decades. There is an illustration of a small boy showing a penis, if I remember correctly.
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