Illustration photo – 2017 Young Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman delivers her poem The Hill We Climb at Joe Biden's inauguration.
Miami (USA) – The library at an elementary school in the US state of Florida has placed the work of the American poet Amanda Gorman on the list of books prohibited for younger children. She also read her poems at the inauguration of US President Joe Biden. The school responded to the request of the mother of two schoolchildren, the AP agency reported today. The ban was condemned by the White House as censorship, Reuters reported.
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At the end of March, Daily Salinas proposed to the school to withdraw a collection of poetry by the poet Gorman because, according to her, her poems seek to indoctrinate children. She criticizes the poem The Hill We Climb, part of which the young black poet composed on January 6, 2021, when supporters of former President Donald Trump attacked the Capitol. The poem is supposed to be an appeal to the divided American society and a message of hope, writes AFP.
Bob Graham's school did not ban the book completely, but reassigned it to a section with access for children from the age of 11.
“So they ban my book to young readers, confuse me with Oprah, don't specify which parts of my poetry they find objectionable, refuse to read any reviews and offer no alternatives… Such unnecessary book bans are increasing and we have to fight back,” Gorman wrote on Facebook . She added a photo of the complaint to the post by Salinas, who named the host Oprah Winfrey as the author of the collection on the form.
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre today called on Americans to stand up against the book ban. She called the school's decision censorship.
The American Library Association announced in March that efforts to ban books had doubled in 2022 compared to the previous year, writes Reuters. AFP points out that the culture war between Republicans and Democrats is dividing the US. Some conservative states are trying to restrict youth access to literature that they believe promotes homosexuality, progressive ideologies, or is offensive. announced his intention to seek the Republican nomination for the post of US president, AP writes.
