Semana de los Libros Prohibidos: 2023

The third volume in the Ottoman Quartet series which continues with an array of characters set against the Ottoman Empire prior to World War I. Written by Ahmet Altan while he was in a Turkish prison for alleged involvement in a failed coup.

A study that examines the arguments of those who challenge certain books being allowed in libraries. Knox writes, "…the practices of censorship demonstrate the relationship between knowledge and power." She is a former professional librarian who interviewed challengers because she had a keen interest in their arguments. Knox and the challengers are in agreement about one idea, "…reading is powerful. Books change lives."

In recent years, the news media has been attacked for providing inaccurate information. In addition, there has been a diminishing number of local newspapers, often due to the economic needs of corporate owners. Independent newspapers are a source of unrestricted examination of local issues. "When authoritarians subvert democracy, the first thing they do is kill the messenger of free-flowing information." Ken Tingley was the editor of The Post-Star in Glens Falls, New York, from 1999 to 2020.

Maria Ressa worked as a journalist in the United States and the Philippines. She was co-founder of Rappler, an online news website. The dictatorial regime of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte charged her with cyber-libel and arrested her. Her memoir is hopeful, yet she cautions that globally, we are all at risk if freedom of the press is threatened. With Dmitry Andreyevich Muratov, she shared the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize "for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace."

Isaac Bashevis Singer was well known for his novels, but this collection of his essays examines many subjects, including an essay, "Why Literary Censorship is Harmful." In another essay, "The Ten Commandments and Modern Critics," Singer cheekily speculates how Moses would be received today if he issued his commandments in a booklet or brochure. The 1978 Prize in Literature was awarded to him "for his impassioned narrative art which, with roots in a Polish-Jewish cultural tradition, brings universal human conditions to life."

The plot and characters are based upon a fictional translation of an epic Sanskrit work. Pampa Kampana is blessed/cursed to live for 247 years. Her super powers enable her to create the Bishnaga Empire, which is a proto-feminist construct, and to interact with all manner of people over the decades, but the complexity of her court and her life are counter-productive. In 2022, at a public presentation, Rushdie was stabbed by an attacker. In 1989, a fatwa calling for his assassination was issued after the publication of his novel, The Satanic Verses.

A notable group of journalists were interviewed for their experiences in reporting from China, from the civil war in 1940 to the COVID-19 pandemic. "Journalists detail the challenges of covering a complex and secretive society and offer insight into eight decades of tumultuous political, economic, and social change."

In 1955, during the Cold War, Katharine Clark was a foreign correspondent for the International News Service in Eastern Europe. While in Yugoslavia, she met Milovan Djilas, who had been a high-ranking Communist Party official but was relieved of his post for having criticized the government. Katharine Clark smuggled out a series of detailed, critical articles written by him.