Crack open your favorite controversial literary masterpiece: it’s Banned Books Week. This annual awareness campaign happened the week of Sep. 27 – Oct. 3 and was celebrated by Madison College’s Yahara Journal with a banned books forum. The forum had teachers read from books that were banned for their subject matter regarding social and racial inequities.  

Hailey Griffin, editor of the Yahara Journal, created this forum to assist in the Yahara Journal’s equity initiative. “The forum’s goal is to spread awareness about how banned books affected others and how they relate to identity,” said Griffin. “Also, to get students involved with banned books and get them to know what they’re all about.” 

The forum began with Matt Guenette reading “Howl,” then Mike Lussenden reading “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” Timothy Twohill with “Lord of the Flies,” Anna Purnell reading “The Well of Loneliness,” Vigil Miller reading “Heather has Two Mommies,” and John Galligan with “Strange Fruit.”  

Each instructor read a chapter or excerpt from their chosen novels which were then compiled into a thirty-minute YouTube video available on the Yahara Journal’s Facebook page. Check it out at https://youtu.be/-