City Lit Theater Will Celebrate 'Banned Books' Week

City Lit Theater Company, in association with the American Library Association's Office of Intellectual Freedom, will again present BOOKS ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK, a celebration of BANNED BOOK WEEK, September 18-22, at various locations in and around Chicago.

Every year since 1982, the American Library Association has released a list of the top ten most frequently challenged books as reported to their Office of Intellectual Freedom during the previous year. BANNED BOOKS WEEK, held during the last week of September, features those books. The week celebrates the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment. The event draws attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted restriction of access to books across the United States.

City Lit Theater's BOOKS ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK is a 60-minute program consisting of short readings of excerpts from the top ten challenged books of the previous year. Each book is introduced with background on the book, including the reason it got challenged. The readings are followed by an audience discussion. City Lit Theater will present the 2022 BOOKS ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK readings from September 18-22 at four different locations in the Chicago area: two Chicago Public Library branches: the DePaul University Library in Lincoln Park and the Lincoln-Belmont Library Branch; the Mt. Prospect Public Library, and the Highland Park Library. The event at DePaul University, on September 21 at 1 pm, will also be available to view virtually live at https://depaul.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcvduCqrjsuEtBdOHUl6qaqpFA7OaikI5v4

BOOKS ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK is adapted and directed by Katy Nielsen. The cast includes Gordy Andina, Andrea Conway-Diaz, Brandon Boler, Cat Hermes, Norine McGrath, and Eric Robinson.

City Lit Artistic Director Terry McCabe believes that BOOKS ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK actively celebrates the books most at risk and call attention to the would-be censor's threat to an educated democracy. "Our focus is literate theater, so we are naturally concerned by attempts to keep books away from people," McCabe says. "We are privileged to continue our alliance with the ALA in this important work." This Year's List of Most Frequently Challenged Books The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 729 challenges to library, school, and university materials and services in 2021. Of the 1597 books that were targeted, here are the most challenged, along with the reasons cited for censoring the books:

1. Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe
Reasons: Banned, challenged, and restricted for LGBTQIA+ content, and because it was considered to have sexually explicit images

2. Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison
Reasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to be sexually explicit

3. All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson
Reasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content, profanity, and because it was considered to be sexually explicit

4. Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez
Reasons: Banned, challenged, and restricted for depictions of abuse and because it was considered to be sexually explicit

5. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Reasons: Banned and challenged for profanity, violence, and because it was thought to promote an anti-police message and indoctrination of a social agenda

6. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Reasons: Banned and challenged for profanity, sexual references and use of a derogatory term

7. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
Reasons: Banned and challenged because it was considered sexually explicit and degrading to women

8. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Reasons: Banned and challenged because it depicts child sexual abuse and was considered sexually explicit

9. This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson
Reasons: Banned, challenged, relocated, and restricted for providing sexual education and LGBTQIA+ content.

10. Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin
Reasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to be sexually explicit. The 2022 performance schedule for BOOKS ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK

Sunday, Sept. 18
Highland Park Library
494 Laurel Avenue
Highland Park, IL
2:00 PM
 
Tuesday, Sept. 20
Mt. Prospect Library
10 S. Emerson Street,
Mount Prospect, IL
7:00 PM

Wednesday, Sept. 21
DePaul University Library
2350 N. Kenmore Ave.,
Chicago, IL 60614
1:00 PM

Thursday, Sept. 22
Lincoln Belmont Branch
1659 W. Melrose Ave.
Chicago IL 60657
2:00 PM