One of the most banned books of all time - Mollie Godfrey

Translator: Anna B

In 1998, a Maryland school district removed one of American literature’s

I 1998 fjernede Marylands skoledistrikt en af amerikansk litteraturs

most acclaimed works from its curriculum.

mest anerkendte bøger fra dets pensum.

Parents pushing for the ban said the book

Forældre, som ønskede at forbyde bogen, sagde den var

was both “sexually explicit” and “anti-white.”

”seksuelt eksplicit” og “anti-hvid”.

Following an outcry from other parents and teachers,

Efter protest fra andre forældre og lærere

the decision was eventually reversed.

blev beslutningen tilbagetrukket.

But this was neither the first nor the last attack

Men det var hverken det først eller sidste angreb på

on Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings.”

Maya Angelous “Jeg ved hvorfor fuglen synger i sit bur”

Few books have been challenged more often than Angelou's memoir.

Kun få bøger har været mere udfordret end Angelous selvbiografi.

And while book banning decisions typically aren’t made

Mens beslutninger om bogforbud typisk ikke er lavet

at the state or national level,

på et statsligt eller nationalt plan,

most of the schools and libraries that have banned Angelou’s book

så har skoler og biblioteker, der har banlyst Angelous bog

have given similar reasons.

angivet lignende begrundelser.

Most commonly, they argue that the memoir’s account of sexual assault

De mest almindelige argumenter er, at biografiens skildring af seksuelt overgreb

and the violence of US racism are inappropriate for young readers.

og USAs racevold er upassende for unge læsere.

Men bekymringerne glemmer meningen med Angelous historie,

But these concerns miss the point of Angelou’s story,

which uses these very themes to explore the danger of censorship

som bruger disse temaer til at udforske farerne ved censur

and silence in the lives of young people.

og tavshed i unge menneskers liv.

Published in 1969, “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings”

Udgivet i 1969, “Jeg ved hvorfor fuglen synger i sit bur”

traces the author’s childhood growing up poor, Black and female in the southern US.

handler om forfatterens opvækst som fattig, sort og kvinde i det sydlige USA.

Central to the narrative is Angelou’s experience of being sexually assaulted

Centralt til erindringen er Angelous beskrivelse af at blive udsat for overgreb

when she was seven and a half years old.

da hun var syv og et halvt år gammel.

Surrounded by adults who consider the subject too taboo to discuss,

Omgivet af voksne der betragter emnet som tabu at tale om

Angelou decides that she is to blame.

beslutter Angelou at give sig selv skylden.

And when she finally identifies her abuser in court,

Da hun identificerer overgrebsmanden i retten,

he is killed by vigilantes.

bliver han dræbt af selvtægtsmænd.

Angelou believes her voice is responsible for his death,

Angelou mener at hendes stemme er ansvarlig for hans død,

and for six years, she stops speaking almost entirely.

og i seks år holder hun næsten op med at tale.

The book chronicles Angelou’s journey to rediscover her voice,

Bogen skildrer Angelous rejse for at genfinde hendes stemme,

all while exploring the pain and misplaced shame

mens hun udforsker smerten og selvbebrejdelsen,

that emerges from avoiding uncomfortable realities.

der kommer af at undgå ukomfortable realiteter.

The memoir’s narrative voice expertly blends her childhood confusion

Memoirets fortællerstemme blander hendes barndoms forvirring

with her adult understanding,

med hendes voksne forståelse

offering the reader insights Angelou was deprived of as a child.

og giver læseren indsigt i hvad Angelou er blevet frataget som barn.

She connects her early experiences of being silenced and shamed

Hun forbinder sin barndoms oplevelse af at blive gjort tavs og ydmyget

to the experience of being poor and Black in the segregated United States.

til oplevelsen af at være fattig og sort i det segregerede USA.

“The Black female,” she writes,

“Den sorte kvinde,” skriver hun,

“is caught in the tripartite crossfire of masculine prejudice,

“er fanget i krydsild fra tre sider mellem maskuline fordomme,

white illogical hate, and Black lack of power.”

ulogisk hvidt had og sort mangel på magt.”

Her autobiography was one of the first books

Hendes selvbiografi var en af de første bøger

to speak openly about child sexual abuse,

til at fortælle åbent om seksuelt misbrug af børn.

and especially groundbreaking to do so from the perspective of the abused child.

Særligt banebrydende var at gøre det set fra det misbrugte barns perspektiv.

For centuries, Black women writers had been limited by stereotypes

I århundreder havde sorte kvindelige forfattere

været begrænset af stereotyper, som beskrev dem som hyperseksuelle.

characterizing them as hypersexual.

Afraid of reinforcing these stereotypes,

I frygt for at forstærke disse stereotyper

few were willing to write about their sexuality at all.

ønskede få at skrive om deres seksualitet.

But Angelou refused to be constrained.

Men Angelou nægtede at lade sig begrænse.

She publicly explored her most personal experience,

Hun udforskede offentligt hendes mest personlig oplevelse

without apology or shame.

uden skyld eller skam.

This spirit of defiance charges her writing with a sense of hope

Denne trodsighed fylder hendes fortælling med en følelse af håb,

that combats the memoir’s often traumatic subject matter.

der nedtoner erindringens ellers traumatiske indhold.

When recalling how a fellow student defied instructions not to sing

Da hun mindes, hvordan en medstuderende trodsede instruktioner om ikke at synge

the Black National Anthem in the presence of white guests,

den sorte nationalsang i nærværet af hvide gæster,

she writes, “The tears that slipped down many faces were not wiped away in shame.

skriver hun, ”De tårer der trillede ned ad mange kinder,

blev ikke tørret væk i skam.

We were on top again... We survived.”

Vi var ovenpå igen. Som altid, endnu engang. Vi overlevede.”

Angelou’s memoir was published amidst the Civil Rights and Black Power movements,

Angelous erinding blev udgivet i borgerrettighedsbevægelsens storhedstid

when activists were calling for school curricula

da aktivister forlangte et pensum

that reflected the diversity of experiences in the US.

som afspejlede mangfoldigheden af oplevelser i USA.

But almost as soon as the book appeared in schools, it was challenged.

Men så snart bogen dukkede op i skolerne blev den udfordret.

Campaigns to control lesson plans surged across America in the 1970s and 80s.

Kampagner om strengere kontrol af pensum steg overalt i USA i 1970′erne og 80′erne.

On the American Library Association’s list

På American Library Associations liste

of most frequently banned or challenged books,

over mest forbudte eller udfordrede bøger har

“I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” remained near the top for two decades.

“Jeg ved hvorfor fuglen synger i sit bur” været nær toppen i to årtier.

But parents, students, and educators have consistently fought back

Men forældre, elever og lærere kæmper fortsat

in support of the memoir.

til fordel for selvbiografien.

And by 2013, it had become the second most taught non-fiction text

I 2013 var det den anden mest brugte faktatekst

in US high school English classes.

i amerikanske gymnasium engelsk klasser.

When asked how she felt about writing one of the most banned books, Angelou said,

Da hun blev spurgt ind til hvordan det føltes

at have skrevet en af de mest forbudte bøger, sagde Angelou

“I find that people who want my book banned have never read

“Jeg har opdaget, at folk som ønsker at forbyde min bog

aldrig har læst noget af hvad jeg skriver,

a paragraph of my writing,

but have heard that I write about a rape.

men har hørt, at jeg skriver om voldtægt.

They act as if their children are not faced with the same threats.

De opfører sig som om at deres børn ikke står over for de samme trusler.

And that’s terrible.”

Og det er forfærdeligt.”

She believed that children who are old enough to be the victims

Hun mente, at børn som er gamle nok til at være ofre

of sexual abuse and racism are old enough to read about these subjects.

for seksuelt misbrug og racisme også er gamle nok til at læse om de emner.

Because listening and learning are essential to overcoming,

Fordi at lytte og at lære er essentielt for at overkomme,

and the unspeakable is far more dangerous when left unspoken.

og det ubeskrivelige er langt farligere hvis det forbliver usagt.