Can you picture a world where we didn’t know who Atticus Finch, Holden Caulfield, and Harry Potter were? These iconic characters may have never entered into our imaginations had literary censorship prevailed in all of its contested cases.
Organized by the Freedom of Expression Committee of the Book and Periodical Council, Freedom to Read Week promotes the importance of intellectual freedom and raises awareness around issues of literary censorship. From February 26th to March 3rd , Canadians are encouraged to reflect upon and reaffirm their commitment to this concept, which is a right guaranteed to citizens under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms that is too often taken for granted in our society.
Even in a democratic nation like Canada, schools, libraries, and bookstores are frequently asked to remove books, magazines, and other publications with controversial content from their shelves. Literary censorship infringes upon Canadians’ fundamental freedom of “thought, belief, opinion, and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication” as outlined in the Charter. By limiting public access to certain reading material, great consequences can occur, such as compromising the stream of information, ideas, and opinions which results from devouring thought-provoking literature. It’s time to take a stand against literary censorship by vocalizing our concerns over this smothering of creativity and free thought.
Freedom to Read Week advocates for the protection of our fundamental freedom of choice and expression. Throughout the week, several public events will take place in libraries, schools, and cultural venues across Canada. A complete calendar of events and a list of ways to support Freedom to Read-related initiatives are available on their website.
Release challenged and banned books in your communities and around the world through Book Crossing, a fun and innovative way for Canadians to help spread the word about literary censorship. For ideas on which book titles you can set free, refer to Freedom to Read’s list of challenged literature over the past decades.
For the latest updates on the week-long campaign, follow Freedom to Read Week on Twitter and Facebook.
What do you value? What do you want to give to the world?
Those were the questions that circulated in my mind during YWiB SFU‘s The Pursuit of Happiness workshop. The panel consisted of three driven women from various industries – non-profit, photography, and fashion and health – who shared their invigorating and inspiring insights on finding satisfaction in one’s career with an engaged audience of young professionals.
What’s the secret? How are some bloggers able to update all of their blogs (public, personal, and professional) and social media networks on a daily basis? How do they gather meaningful, interesting, and relevant topics; engage with their readers, AND still have time to go out, explore, and live life?
Though we’re only ten days into this new year, and I am already struggling with my goal of writing daily updates on all of my networks. Twitter is probably the easiest for me to catch up with (it’s times like these when I’m thankful for that 140 character limit). On the other hand, my Facebook profile is a ghost town with very minimal activity from me; I only go on Facebook to see what my friends are up to. While I want to write more substantial posts on Blogger, I just don’t have the time to sit down and brainstorm great ideas for enlightening and/or entertaining entries. When it comes to my paper journal and LiveJournal updates on what I did that day/week, I keep on postponing that task until the items are no longer fresh in my memory. I think I’m really going to implement that ‘write down every interesting thought and/or occurrence that you encounter down on a pad of paper before you forget it later on’ strategy ASAP. I’m constantly behind on my Tumblr dashboard (and by the time I get all caught up, my body and mind are telling me that it’s time for bed, leaving no more time for leisure until the next evening, when that cycle starts all over again…). When I’m lucky enough to have a few free minutes to just write it all out, I find that lack the inspiration and/or energy to produce anything longer than a paragraph in length.
I’m not even sure what the purpose of this entry is. A rant? A call-out for advice? A plead to the writing gods to kindly bless me with the gift of brilliant ideas and beautiful words?
Asking for the cure for writer’s block is just like asking what the meaning of life is.
“I loved words. I love to sing them and speak them and even now, I must admit, I have fallen into the joy of writing them.” — Anne Rice
I have always been fascinated with dreams. The idea of entering an alternate dimension in your subconscious state that is a reflection of what you are facing in reality is a concept that I give great thought to. In my dreams, I tend to encounter several recurring themes, and after researching the deeper meaning behind the symbols I come across, they always bear great significance to whatever I’m thinking or feeling in the present state of my everyday life.
The three most common themes in my dreams are traveling, elevators, and hotels.
Elizabeth Rosalyn 