The book blogs have been atwitter today, when word hit that an article was describing the rape scenes in the multi-award winning novel Speak by Laure Halse Anderson to be pornographic. (There were also mentions of Slaughterhouse Five and Twenty Boy Summer in the article as well.)
I’ve been stewing about the article all day.
I’ve been blowing up my twitter feed, supporting the hashtag #SpeakLoudly.
I’ve been reading post after post, defending Speak and our first amendment rights.
I’ve been watching Laure Halse Anderson read a poem compiled by readers of Speak (and crying)
I’m angry.
I’m disgusted.
I'm heartbroken.
I think it’s about time that I, SPEAK LOUDLY.
This post won’t be as eloquent as some.. I feel as though there is so much I want to say... but it has been said and said so well ... Laure Halse Anderson, A.S. King, Myra McEntire, Book and Wine, Consumed By Books, Liz B. But I'll try... and although it will lack on eloquence, you can expect it to be honest and from the heart.
Speak is one of my all time favorite novels. It was the first novel that made me feel.
Feel normal, feel not alone, feel not afraid.
I have never experienced anything as horrendous as Melinda, the main character in Speak. And perhaps you haven't either, but I’m sure there has been a time in your life you wish you would have had the courage to SPEAK UP.
I know I have.
I was in an abusive relationship in high school. More mentally abusive than physically, although I’m not sure one is better than the other. I was afraid, I was ashamed, embarrassed, I felt like it was my fault.
I should have known not to wear that skirt.
I should have known not to wave at that boy.
I should have known not to laugh at that joke.
Had I found a copy of Speak ten years ago, would I have found the courage to tell my mother, to tell my guidance counselor, to tell anyone? Perhaps I would have, perhaps not. It’s devastating to me that there could be someone that could benefit from reading Speak, and yet not have the opportunity to do so.
How dare you deny them that chance.
I encourage you, dear readers, to SPEAK UP.
Let the Scroggins of the world know: You DO NOT SPEAK for ME.