\n<\/p>\n
WISE \u2014 Brian Marcus started checking on \u201cMaus\u201d this week after the news from McMinn County, Tennessee.<\/p>\n
Carlie and Lloyd Tomlinson had read Art Spiegelman\u2019s book long before it became the subject of controversy after the McMinn County School Board on Jan. 10 voted 10-0 to ban the four-decade-old graphic novel from the school division\u2019s curriculum on the Holocaust.<\/p>\n
The vote came just over two weeks before National Holocaust Remembrance Day.<\/p>\n
Marcus, owner of Cavalier Comics in Wise, said Friday he heard on the news about \u201cMaus\u201d being banned by a school district in Tennessee and searched the internet for more details.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was reading the minutes on the meeting and trying to get up to date on it, kind of shaking my head over them saying they didn\u2019t believe it was age appropriate with the language and the nudity in it,\u201d Marcus said. \u201cThey wanted to redact it and censor it pretty much and in the end they decided, well, we\u2019re just going to take it out of the curriculum and not do it anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Tomlinsons, owners of Appalachian Books in Norton, started a banned book club Friday in reaction to the school board\u2019s action.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter reading up on it, they banned it for what I consider was a stupid reason all things considered \u2014 an image of a nude woman and several words that were considered to be foul,\u201d Lloyd said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know what else is foul?\u201d Carlie asked. \u201cThe Holocaust. If you\u2019re reading \u2018Maus\u2019 and the language is what upsets you, you really need to get your priorities in line.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a Pulitzer Prize winning piece of work,\u201d Marcus said, pointing to Spiegelman\u2019s telling of his father\u2019s experiences as a Holocaust survivor.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe kids nowadays are exposed to a lot worse than this,\u201d said Marcus, \u201cand this is something that the teachers should have an option to teach in the classroom. It blows my mind that stuff like this is still happening.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus said \u201cMaus\u201d is not a regular part of his inventory, but he checked with distributors in anticipation of public interest.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one has them in stock anywhere,\u201d Marcus said. \u201cYou\u2019re just doing the opposite by banning this book. People will want to go out and it read it now.\u201d<\/p>\n
If demand for graphic novels like \u201cWatchmen\u201d and works tied to the Marvel cinematic universe are an indicator, Marcus said it could be a few weeks to a month before publishers begin a new print of \u201cMaus.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lloyd said Appalachian Books has not seen much public interest this week about \u201cMaus.\u201d He pointed to the 2021 controversy over Theodore Seuss\u2019 estate\u2019s decision to stop publishing some of his children\u2019s books over concerns about social insensitivity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did have a lot of people asking for those specific books, which is another underlying irony in this whole culture war thing,\u201d said Lloyd.<\/p>\n
\u201cBookstores are a bastion of free thought and the exchange of ideas,\u201d Carlie added, \u201cand banned books go completely against that.\u201d<\/p>\n
A new display in Appalachian Books highlights book-banning with a shelf of volumes that have either been banned in various U.S. school systems or became political fodder. George Orwell\u2019s \u201cAnimal Farm\u201d and works by Toni Morrison share space with the Harry Potter series, Ralph Ellison\u2019s \u201cInvisible Man,\u201d Stephen King\u2019s \u201cThe Stand,\u201d \u201cThe Hunger Games,\u201d \u201cTwilight\u201d and works by Margaret Atwood, Paulo Coelho and others.<\/p>\n
Carlie said the store\u2019s first banned book club will launch Feb. 11 with a virtual meeting at 6 p.m., followed by an in-person session Feb. 12 at 2 p.m.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a bring-your-own-book club for the first meeting,\u201d she noted. \u201cWe wanted to get everyone together as soon as possible, so everyone is encouraged to bring or discuss what your favorite banned book is, the things you liked about it and the things you learned about it. All of us will decide on a book to read for the March club meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lloyd said the \u201cMaus\u201d controversy is a reminder of the importance of being involved in local politics.<\/p>\n
\u201cChoices like these do have an impact,\u201d he added. \u201cI would urge anybody angry about the banning of \u2018Maus\u2019 to think critically about why the books that get banned or challenged are targeted specifically and start showing up to your town council or school board meetings. Get on the agenda and make your voice heard.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re that concerned about what your child\u2019s reading in the curriculum, read what\u2019s banned,\u201d Carlie said. \u201cRead what they\u2019re reading. Get involved.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n