Talk of censorship and government-controlled words is nothing new, but we can defy the threat by enjoying the messages in a banned book while digging into a slice of apple pie.
One summer when I was in high school, I decided I should read banned books. A book that was good enough to be banned, I reasoned, would be a good read, at least entertaining and provocative if not eye-opening and life-changing. A book that wasn’t good, I was sure, would never be banned.
I read “Catcher in the Rye.” It was required reading in some English classes in my high school but not in the honors and advanced placement classes I took, which focused more on classics like “Hamlet” and “Antigone” and “Paradise Lost,” nothing as groovy as the musings of a kid who bails on his prep school because he thinks the girl he has a longtime crush on and his buddy are having sex and he’s been shaken by a realization that there are “phonies” in the world.
I don’t remember liking “Catcher in the Rye,” but I do vividly remember liking reading “Catcher in the Rye” — in our big, cool basement in Colorado Springs during the long, hot afternoons of summer; curled up in a white bean bag chair next to a wall that was covered, floor to ceiling, with overflowing bookshelves, snacks (usually apples) always at the ready.
Between 1960 and 1982, “Catcher in the Rye” was the most censored book in school libraries and classes in the United States. But don’t be fooled in to thinking that was a concern of a different era. According to the American Library Association, “Catcher in the Rye” was challenged as recently as 2009. People — aka parents — don’t like it because of, among other things, profanity, sex, rebellion, lying, smoking, you know all the plot points of today’s TV cable movies. One challenge was concerned that the book was a part of a communist plot.
I also remember reading “Laughing Boy” by Oliver LaFarge that summer. In case you’re not familiar with it (because it’s an old book — first published in 1929, the year my dad was born), “Laughing Boy” is the story of a young Navajo man maneuvering the changing world at the turn of 20th century America, his complicated romance with a young white woman who was educated at an Indian boarding school that stressed assimilation, and the ensuing racism that dogged them in both the white and Indian communities.
It was a compelling read with a star-crossed love story and a tragic ending that appealed to a 17-year-old girl, but it was more than that. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1930, was made into a movie in 1934 and was published as an Armed Services Edition during World War II. (That was a fascinating program in which the United States printed and distributed inexpensive paperbacks to American troops overseas, to the tune of 120 million copies, at the same time that Nazi Germany was burning books.)
And about 50 years after it was first published, when the Island Trees Union Free School District in New York decided “Laughing Boy” and 10 other books should have no place in its school libraries, a group of five students sued their school district in a case that continues to have repercussions. (Notably and shockingly, one of those books, “A Hero Ain’t Nothing But A Sandwich,“ was pulled from the shelves by a board member who said the book was “anti-American” because a character in the story said George Washington was a slave owner.) The case, Board of Education v. Pico, eventually found its way in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. The court was split on whether school boards had the right to remove books, but Justice William Brennan wrote in his plurality opinion: “We hold that local school boards may not remove books from school library shelves simply because they dislike the ideas contained in those books and seek by their removal to ‘prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of public opinion.”
The Supremes sent the case back to a lower court and the books — including “Slaughterhouse Five” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., which I read in college” “Go Ask Alice,” which I read in junior high and is still on my bookshelf, and “Best Short Stories of Negro Writers,” edited by Langston Hughes — eventually made their way back into the library.
When I was in college, I took an adolescent literature class that stands out as one of the two best courses during my four years at Colorado State (the other: History of Sports, which had on its syllabus my favorite book of all time, “The Boys of Summer” by Roger Kahn — as far as I know, it was never challenged or banned). I believe every book on that assigned reading list did double time on the banned books list: “I am the Cheese” and “After the First Death,” both by Robert Cormier; “Ordinary People,” by Judith Guest; “The Outsiders” by S.E. Hinton, “Song of Solomon” by Toni Morrison, “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker.
I’m still looking for the “bad” book that ends up on the banned list
"I am concerned that loud voices, threats, and words taken out of context could 86 a book ..."
I’ve been thinking of these pieces of literature the past couple weeks for a number of reasons. First, last week was Banned Book Week, an annual campaign sponsored by the American Library Association to bring awareness about banned and challenged books and controversial writers and to celebrate the freedom to read. (I planned to write this blog post last week, but COVID had a different timeline for me.)
Second, I recently watched a video clip of a contentious school board meeting during which some parents and the mayor took exception to a book of writing prompts in a college-level course at the Hudson, Ohio, high school. Some of the 642 prompts in the book asked the students to imagine sexual or violent situations. Whether those prompts were in fact assigned was not made clear in any of the news stories I read. However, the angry parents and the mayor called for the resignations of the school board, and the mayor went so far as to say board members would be charged with child pornography if they didn’t resign. (The county prosecutor, however, told the Akron Beacon Journal that the writing prompts did not constitute child pornography.)
I wasn’t particularly concerned about the book. Having once been a teenage writer, I am fully aware that many — maybe most — young authors have at one point in their nascent careers written “a sex scene that you wouldn’t show your mom” and that violence is a common theme among writers, young and old, especially Americans who are fed a near-constant diet of violence in TV shows, movies, music, video games, news, literature and history.
I am, however, concerned that loud voices, threats, and words taken out of context could 86 a book that for years had gone unchallenged.
If it can happen in Hudson, Ohio, can it happen in your town? Can it happen in mine?
Third, the Congressional hearings this week about Facebook and Instagram have drawn my interest and concern. Although I’m sure the platforms do have problems that should be resolved, I am uneasy about adults making decisions based on underestimating the strength and resilience of teenaged girls. And I am even more concerned — should I say terrified? — by the thought of government controlling content, even “misinformation.” After all, at one time, government officials thought adolescents should be prevented from reading a book that said a wealthy landowner, general and politician in Revolutionary-era America owned slaves.
A better choice for combating Instagram-envy and Facebook-induced FOMO, as well as fighting the fear of provocative content in novels and English classes, is to find a cozy spot in your basement or backyard or bedroom, stock up on snacks (I recommend apples, in or out of a pie) and crack open a book, preferably one that challenges your preconceived orthodoxy about “politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of public opinion.”
Read a banned book. It’ll be good and it’s good for what ails us.
The Pie
back to the Books Fruit Pie
Aka Apple Pomegranate & Honey Pie
Like books, the benefits of pie are often underestimated. Sure, a diet too heavy on sweet treats can cause problems healthwise, but does anyone ever encourage people to eat nothing but pie? Does anyone encourage a reading diet of nothing but trashy romances and comic books? Maybe, but I don’t think so.
Fruit pies especially are good for you. Not only do they make you happy, hopped up on the endorphins of nostalgia and community, they also have fruit in them. And everyone — including nutritionists and dieticians — knows fruit is good for you.
This pie, “Back to the Books Fruit Pie,” is a tasty twist on a traditional apple pie. Instead of sugar, it is sweetened with honey, which gives it a richer, more earthy
taste. And the pomegranate seeds tossed in with the sliced apples adds an interesting tartness and slightly nutty feel. On top of that, its three main ingredients offer health benefits that only add to the allure of a treat that some people would try to deny you.
> Apples
We all know, thanks to Ben Franklin, that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but do you know why? Apples are rich in fiber, vitamin C, potassium, vitamin K and polyphenols, (especially if you don’t peel them, which, if you’re making a pie, you probably do). Because of all those goodies, apples potentially lower the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer. They are also believed to help fight asthma and promote good bone health and to help prevent mental decline and stomach issues.
Plus, it's age-old wisdom that giving an apple to the teacher is likely to show up in positive comments on your report card.
> Pomegranates
Surprisingly categorized as a berry, a pomegranate has hundreds of edible seeds inside its thick, rugged red skin. The seeds are surrounded by juicy, red flesh, called aril. The aril is sweet but also a little tart, and that’s where all the deliciousness is stored.
Pomegranate arils are high in antioxidants, fiber, protein, vitamin C, folate and potassium, so there’s lots of benefits to eating pomegranates or drinking pomegranate juice. It has anti-inflammatory properties that could help with arthritis and joint pain and could improve verbal and visual memory, as well as helping to fight Alzheimer‘s disease. Pomegranates are also said to help slow prostate, breast and colon cancer, as well as help to lower blood pressure and the risk of heart disease.
> Honey
I suppose everyone has heard that eating locally produced honey helps prevent food allergies, because it contain pollen from local plants, thus exposing the consumer to small doses of potential allergens and allowing a tolerance to the offending plant to grow. But did you know it is also high in antioxidants which have been linked to reduced risk of heart attacks, strokes and some cancers, and it may promote eye health.
In addition, honey has been used since ancient Egypt to promote healing for burns and other wounds, and it can help suppress coughs. (Hot Toddy, anyone?)
(Word to wise: Honey should not be given to children younger than 1 year old.)
The Recipe
Dough for a 9-inch double pie crust
1 cup honey
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
8 medium-sized Pink Lady apples
Seeds from half a pomegranate (more or less to taste)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small pieces (optional)
1 teaspoon milk (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Make the pie dough (recipe below). Gather the dough into two balls, one slightly larger than the other. Refrigerate the smaller one. On a lightly-floured surface, roll out the larger portion and place into a 9-inch pie plate. Fit it into the plate and trim the edges, leaving an overhang of about 1 inch. Refrigerate the crust until you need it.
In a large bowl, combine the honey, the spices and the flour. Sprinkle with the vanilla, a few drops at a time, and mix until well blended. Add the apple slices and the pomegranate seeds and toss until well coated. Remove the bottom crust from the refrigerator and pour the filling into the crust, then dot with butter (if you want to use it, although I don’t find it necessary).
Roll out the second portion of dough. Place the top crust over the apple filling. Trim the overhang; then fold the edge of the top crust under the bottom crust until they are even with the rim of the pie plate. Crimp or flute the edges. Cut steam vents in to the top crust. If you want a shiny pie, brush the crust with milk and then sprinkle with sugar. (I typically sprinkle an apple pie with a cinnamon-sugar blend and then add some sparkling sugar for a little bling.)
Bake about 1 hour, until the filling is bubbly and the crust is golden. Let cool on a wire rack before serving.
It’s good with vanilla ice cream.
DOUBLE PIE CRUST
2½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
¼ cup (4 tablespoons) cold vegetable shortening
¼ cup (4 tablespoons) cold vodka
6 tablespoons cold water, plus extra as needed
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt and sugar until thoroughly combined. Add the butter and shortening and cut together with a pastry cutter until the mixture forms small pea-sized crumbs.
Pour the vodka over the mixture, a tablespoon at a time, using a rubber spatula to combine. Add the water and press the dough together to form two large balls. If the dough seems dry or does not hold together, add extra water a tablespoon at a time until all the ingredients come together. (Be careful not to work the dough too much to prevent the crust from being tough.)
Press each ball into a 1-inch disk, wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour — or up to two days — before rolling out.
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