Banned Book Club Reads Gender Queer

Inspired by a recent spike in book bannings and book burnings, the Desmond-Fish Public Library’s Banned Book Club is a new place to read and discuss banned and challenged works of contemporary literature in a safe, welcoming, and inclusive environment. One Thursday each month, we will read one book that has been recently challenged, and discuss it both as a work of literature and as a subject of social conflict.

This month, the Banned Book Club will read Maia Kobabe’s memoir Gender Queer. Done in comic form and recounting Kobabe’s path to gender-identity as nonbinary and queer, has been “banned, challenged, and restricted for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to have sexually explicit images.” According to the American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom, Gender Queer was the most-challenged book in 2021, having been pulled from many libraries and schools in 11 states, including nearby Wappingers’ Falls, NY.

Copies are available at the Library, or via Hoopla.

Participation is available for all patrons aged thirteen and older. All skill levels and points of view are welcome.

The book group is run by Digital Services Librarian Ryan Biracree. In addition to librarianship, Ryan has taught literature at the College of Mount Saint Vincent, Mount Saint Mary College, SUNY College of Staten Island, and Sarah Lawrence College, and served as archivist for the Academy of American Poets.

The book club meets indoors at the Library and is limited to 13 participants. Masks are mandatory inside the building for all patrons over the age of two, regardless of vaccination status. Vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test is encouraged before attending this program.

Please register in advance here.