Loading Events

« All Events

Ira Wells at Kingston Writers Fest: You Can’t Read That!

September 19 @ 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm

Ira Wells, author of On Book Banning, will be speaking at the Kingston Writers Fest event “You Can’t Read That!” Ira will be joined by politics and culture critic David Moscrop in a robust discussion of public and private book banning. Is it wrong to embrace the books of people who do things we abhor? What is ‘equity-based weeding’? How can we know the true scope of book banning when according to a study by the American Library Association 82 to 97 percent of all library challenges go unreported? Do we have a national, communal history? If so, how can we best protect it?

The event will take place in the Limestone City Ballroom (Kingston Marriott) on Friday, September 19 at 3:30PM.

Tickets and more details here.

Grab a copy of On Book Banning here!

ABOUT ON BOOK BANNING

The freedom to read is under attack.

From the destruction of libraries in ancient Rome to today’s state-sponsored efforts to suppress LGBTQ+ literature, book bans arise from the impulse toward social control. In a survey of legal cases, literary controversies, and philosophical arguments, Ira Wells illustrates the historical opposition to the freedom to read and argues that today’s conservatives and progressives alike are warping our children’s relationship with literature and teaching them that the solution to opposing viewpoints is outright expurgation. At a moment in which our democratic institutions are buckling under the stress of polarization, On Book Banning is both rallying cry and guide to resistance for those who will always insist upon reading for themselves.

ABOUT IRA WELLS

Ira Wells is a critic, essayist, and an associate professor at Victoria College in the University of Toronto, where he teaches in the Northrop Frye stream in literature and the humanities in the Vic One program. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Globe and Mail, Guardian, The New Republic, and many other venues. His most recent book is Norman Jewison: A Director’s Life. He lives in Toronto with his wife and children.

Details

Date:
September 19
Time:
3:30 pm - 5:00 pm
Event Categories:
,
Event Tags:
, , ,
Website:
https://www.kingstonwritersfest.ca/you-cant-read-that/

Organizer

Kingston Writers Fest
View Organizer Website

Venue

Kingston Marriott
285 King St E
Kingston, ON K7L 3B1 Canada
+ Google Map

Details

Date:
September 19
Time:
3:30 pm - 5:00 pm
Event Categories:
,
Event Tags:
, , ,
Website:
https://www.kingstonwritersfest.ca/you-cant-read-that/

Organizer

Kingston Writers Fest
View Organizer Website

Venue

Kingston Marriott
285 King St E
Kingston, ON K7L 3B1 Canada
+ Google Map