Event Details

The Greater Pittsburgh Chapter of the ACLU-PA, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and WYEP 91.3 FM will present the 14th annual Banned Books Readings on Thursday, October 1, 2009 at 7:00 pm in the Carnegie Library Lecture Hall in Oakland. Pittsburgh is one of many cities that will celebrate the freedom to read with special events during Banned Books Week (BBW), September 27-October 3, 2009. BBW is observed each year to remind Americans not to take this precious democratic freedom for granted. The “Banned Books Reading” is designed to celebrate the First Amendment and educate citizens about the dangers of censorship. The event features local personalities and performance groups reading from their favorite banned or challenged books; reading selections will include both modern and classic works.

This year’s talented readers come from a variety of disciplines. A sampling of those scheduled to appear includes belly dancers from the Zafira Dance Company, puppeteers under the direction of Mike Cuccaro of the Black Sheep Puppet Festival, and Sally Denmead & Jonah Winter who perform with the Pittsburgh Savoyards.

This year, the event broadens its view of artistic freedoms to include comic strips and editorial cartoons that have been banned or challenged, From Danish cartoons depicting Mohammed to a gay teenager in For Better or Worse , comics have entertained and enraged. The program will feature a selection of projected strips and panels, with the speech “balloons” voiced by local actors.

The Banned Books Reading is free and open to the general public. For more information, call the Pittsburgh office of the ACLU-PA at 412.681.7736 or email bannedbooks@aclupgh.org.