Have you seen this T-shirt: “I’m with the banned?”

That was the shirt worn by the Woodland Shakespeare Club (WSC) committee members as they introduced the 2024-25 program theme: Free People Read Freely. For the year’s study and discussion, the committee chose banned books from several different genres as well as those banned for a variety of reasons, including LGBTQ+, racism, violence and wizardry.

The reading selections were as follows: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Handmaid’s Tale, This Book is Gay, Othello, The Kite Runner, Looking for Alaska, and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

The American Library Association (ALA) reports that book challenges and bannings are on the upswing. As an impetus for this year’s theme, the WSC program committee stated as its goal, “…to bring light to the issue of challenging and/or outright banning of these books and to generate discussion as to whether it‘s appropriate and perhaps when it may be considered inappropriate.“

Books read:

“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain was banned in 1885, soon after it was published. Cited as the cause was the use of the “N” word and racism.

“The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood is the 29th most often banned book in the U.S. Reasons include sexuality, profanity, suicide, violence and anti-Christian themes, according to WSC research. The book was seventh on the ALA list of challenged books in 2023.

“This Book is Gay” by Juno Dawson describes frankly, and often humorously, facts about growing up LGBTQ+ and all the emotional factors affecting people who questioning their orientation or face a “coming out” encounter.

“Othello” by William Shakespeare is banned based on perceived racism even today by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and others.

Other Shakespeare works banned include: “Twelfth Night” based on perceived homosexuality; “Romeo and Juliet” because of parental fear that it encourages teenage sex; “The Merchant of Venice” for anti-semitism, and “Macbeth: due to sex, violence, and obscene language, with some witchcraft thrown in.

“The Kite Runner,” by Khaled Hosseini, about two boys growing up together in Afghanistan, was listed due to concerns that it encourages terrorism and promotes the Islamic religion.

“Looking for Alaska” by John Green, although winner of the ALA’s Michael L. Printz Award, was the most challenged book in 2007 due to profanity and sexual explicitness. Some states have banned the book. “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” a children’s book by J.K. Rowling, was banned for a number of perceived reasons: satanic practices, anti-family themes, and wizardry and magic.

Needless to say, this program generated much lively discussion and education about the censorship of books.

The 2025-2026 program year is titled “The World of Poetry, a Poetic Journey: As You Go, Rhymes Flow.”

WSC was formed in 1886 and is the oldest women’s literary club in California. Membership in the Woodland Shakespeare Club is limited to fifty women. Prospective members are sponsored by members who have been active participants in the club for at least two years. The program season runs from October to April, and two events, the January Tea and the April Luncheon, allow members to invite guests.

For more information about WSC, please email president, Linda Weesner, at linda.weesner@gmail.com.