Banned Books in the United States and Norway

According to PEN America, there were 6,900 attempts to remove books from US schools during the last school year. This has resulted in heated debates in school and library boards, with librarians caught in the crossfire. Most vulnerable are books about identity, race, and minority perspectives – literature that can reveal the full breadth of what it means to grow up and figure out who you are. But even in Norway, there are forces that seek to have certain books banished from school libraries.

A panel discuss the pressure on books in our time, and not least the consequences of book bans for young people. What role does literature play in young people’s understanding of identity, what does it have to do with freedom of expression and democracy – and are Norwegian school libraries immune?

The conversation will be moderated by Maja Gudim Burheim, communications officer at Norwegian PEN.

In collaboration with Norwegian PEN/Ung Ytring.

The conversation will be held in Norwegian.