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

Translator: Karin Kodadova Reviewer: Zuzana Šplhová

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

V roku 1998 školský obvod v Marylande zo svojich učebných osnov vyradil

most acclaimed works from its curriculum.

jedno z najznámejších amerických literárnych diel.

Parents pushing for the ban said the book

Rodičia, ktorí presadzovali zákaz knihy,

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

tvrdili, že je „sexuálne explicitná“ a „protibelošská“.

Following an outcry from other parents and teachers,

Potom, čo sa ozvali viacerí rodičia a učitelia, zákaz zrušili.

the decision was eventually reversed.

But this was neither the first nor the last attack

Toto bol však len jeden z rady útokov na knihu

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

od Mayi Angelou: „Viem, prečo vtáčik v klietke spieva“.

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

Nie je veľa kníh, ktoré by vyvolali toľko ohlasov ako Angelouovej memoáre.

And while book banning decisions typically aren’t made

Hoci sa o zákaze kníh zvyčajne nerozhoduje

at the state or national level,

na štátnej alebo národnej úrovni,

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

školy a knižnice, ktoré knihu zakázali,

have given similar reasons.

uviedli zväčša podobné dôvody.

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

Opisy sexuálnych a rasistických útokov

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

označili za nevhodné pre maloletých.

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

Týmto sa však prehliada podstata príbehu,

which uses these very themes to explore the danger of censorship

ktorý práve týmito témami poukazuje

and silence in the lives of young people.

na nebezpečenstvo cenzúry v živote mladých.

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

„Viem, prečo vtáčik v klietke spieva“ z roku 1969 je o detstve autorky,

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

chudobnej černošky z juhu USA.

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

Hlavnou témou je znásilnenie autorky,

when she was seven and a half years old.

ktorá vtedy mala len sedem a pol roka.

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

Keďže mnohí sa tejto tabu téme vyhýbali,

Angelou decides that she is to blame.

Angelou dospela k tomu, že na vine je ona.

And when she finally identifies her abuser in court,

Páchateľa, ktorého na súde identifikovala,

he is killed by vigilantes.

zabili členovia civilnej stráže.

Angelou believes her voice is responsible for his death,

Angelou za čin pociťovala zodpovednosť

and for six years, she stops speaking almost entirely.

a šesť rokov takmer vôbec neprehovorila.

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

Kniha líči, ako autorka našla svoj hlas,

all while exploring the pain and misplaced shame

odhaľuje bolesť a neoprávnenú hanbu,

that emerges from avoiding uncomfortable realities.

ako následok vyhýbania sa skutočnosti.

The memoir’s narrative voice expertly blends her childhood confusion

Rozprávač spája jej zmätok z detstva

with her adult understanding,

s jej dospelým pochopením a poskytuje nám

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

pohľad, ktorý autorke v detstve chýbal.

She connects her early experiences of being silenced and shamed

Svoje skúsenosti porovnáva so životom

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

chudobných segregovaných černochov v USA.

“The Black female,” she writes,

Píše: „Černošská žena sa ocitá v prestrelke

“is caught in the tripartite crossfire of masculine prejudice,

mužských predsudkov,

white illogical hate, and Black lack of power.”

belošskej nelogickej nenávisti a černošskej bezmocnosti.”

Her autobiography was one of the first books

Jej dielo bolo jedným z prvých,

to speak openly about child sexual abuse,

ktoré hovorili o sexuálnom zneužívaní detí,

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

navyše z pohľadu zneužitého dieťaťa.

For centuries, Black women writers had been limited by stereotypes

Černošské spisovateľky dlho čelili

characterizing them as hypersexual.

stereotypom, napríklad, že sú hypersexuálne.

Afraid of reinforcing these stereotypes,

Zo strachu, že by stereotypy potvrdili,

few were willing to write about their sexuality at all.

len máloktorá o svojej sexualite písala.

But Angelou refused to be constrained.

No Angelou odmietala byť obmedzovaná.

She publicly explored her most personal experience,

Bez hanby verejne hovorila

without apology or shame.

o svojej osobnej skúsenosti.

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

Tento vzdor dodáva jej písaniu nádej,

that combats the memoir’s often traumatic subject matter.

ktorá prekonáva traumatickú tému memoárov.

When recalling how a fellow student defied instructions not to sing

Spomína, ako jej spolužiak napriek zákazu

the Black National Anthem in the presence of white guests,

spieval pred belochmi černošskú hymnu:

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

„Slzy, ktoré im tiekli, si nezotreli.

We were on top again... We survived.”

Boli sme opäť na vrchole... Prežili sme.”

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

Dielo vyšlo v období afroamerického hnutia za ľudské práva.

when activists were calling for school curricula

Aktivisti požadovali, aby školské osnovy

that reflected the diversity of experiences in the US.

odrážali rôznorodosť v USA.

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

V školách sa kniha stala terčom kritiky.

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

V 70. a 80. rokoch v USA narástli snahy o kontrolu učebných plánov.

On the American Library Association’s list

Na zozname najkontroverznejších kníh

of most frequently banned or challenged books,

Americkej asociácie knižníc sa táto kniha

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

udržala na vrchole dve desaťročia.

But parents, students, and educators have consistently fought back

Rodičia, žiaci a učitelia však neprestali

in support of the memoir.

bojovať za presadenie tejto knihy.

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

V roku 2013 sa stala druhou najpopulárnejšou knihou

in US high school English classes.

literatúry faktu na stredných školách v USA.

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

O zákaze knihy sa Angelou vyjadrila takto:

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

„Zisťujem, že tí, ktorí chceli knihu zakázať,

a paragraph of my writing,

z nej neprečítali ani odsek,

but have heard that I write about a rape.

ale dopočuli sa, že v nej píšem o znásilnení.

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

Tvária sa, akoby ich deti nečelili rovnakým hrozbám.

And that’s terrible.”

A to je strašné.”

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

Tvrdí, že ak deti môžu byť obeťami,

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

môžu o týchto témach aj čítať.

Because listening and learning are essential to overcoming,

Je dôležité počúvať a poučiť sa, aby sme prekonali ťažkosti,

and the unspeakable is far more dangerous when left unspoken.

a nevýslovné je ešte nebezpečnejšie, keď sa o ňom nehovorí.