TL;DR
Get art and craft supplies delivered free — and shop member deals
- Fast, free delivery on millions of items
- Access to Prime Big Deal Days deals on October 6–7
- Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included
Hyperallergic marked Banned Books Week with a books newsletter featuring art writing, publishing and reading recommendations, alongside a reminder of school book-ban figures reported by PEN America. The newsletter also highlighted upcoming events and a forthcoming history of the Studio Museum in Harlem.
Hyperallergic’s Banned Books Week newsletter brings together art-book reviews, reading recommendations and publishing news, while drawing attention to book challenges in US public schools. The roundup cites PEN America’s count of more than 11,900 instances of book banning during the previous school year, including more than 8,100 in Texas, and points readers toward art and literary events.
The newsletter, edited by associate editor Lakshmi Rivera Amin, considers how art books can contribute to conversations about history, education and freedom to read. Among its featured reviews is artist, scholar and critic Tao Leigh Goffe’s writing on Turner and the Slave Trade, a book about J. M. W. Turner’s relationship to slavery in his art and life. Goffe argues that the book “recasts Romanticism’s relationship to nature and landscape painting as a vehicle for colonial propaganda.”
Another featured book, discussed by Nageen Shaikh, focuses on craftspeople in Ancient Egypt and the work behind visual culture. The newsletter also directs readers to selections from Printed Matter’s New York Art Book Fair, including zines, risograph prints and independent publishers. A photograph identifies Fugitive Materials’ fair stand and credits photographer Lakshmi Rivera Amin.
The roundup includes a forthcoming book about the Studio Museum in Harlem. The Studio Museum in Harlem: A History is scheduled for publication on October 27 and distribution by Yale University Press. The book brings together contributions from artists, curators, scholars and community leaders to examine the institution’s 58-year history. The museum reopened to the public last November after a seven-year hiatus, according to the newsletter.
Art Publishing Amid Book Challenges
The newsletter places cultural publishing alongside a continuing dispute over access to books in schools. PEN America, the organization cited by Hyperallergic, counted over 11,900 instances of book banning in public schools during the previous school year; the newsletter says over 8,100 were in Texas. Those figures give readers a sense of the scale reported by the organization, while the art-book recommendations offer ways to engage with histories and creative work that may receive less attention in mainstream reading lists.
The roundup does not present art books as a direct response that can resolve book challenges. Instead, its selection connects reading with artistic freedom, historical interpretation and the labor of makers. For readers, the practical value is a set of reviews, publications and public events to follow during a week focused on the right to read.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Rivera Amin frames the issue through her late grandmother’s records from four decades as a public-school librarian in Texas. In those materials, she found a state report on books banned or contested in the 2003–04 school year. She recalls reading Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are as a child and says the book remains among titles targeted for removal in libraries across the country. The newsletter uses this personal recollection to connect past disputes with current book challenges.
Beyond the main art-book features, the issue includes a notice that Hyperallergic Editor-at-Large Hrag Vartanian is moderating a Brooklyn Public Library discussion on artistic freedom at 6:30 p.m. It also lists a book launch for scholar Catherine Liu’s Traumatized: The New Politics of Public Suffering at Artbook at MoMA PS1 Bookstore in Long Island City on October 11. Other recommendations include writing on Theresa Hak Kyung Cha’s Dictee, poet Patricia Lockwood, and books the editors are currently reading.
““recasts Romanticism’s relationship to nature and landscape painting as a vehicle for colonial propaganda.””
— Tao Leigh Goffe, as quoted in the newsletter
independent art publishers zines prints
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Limits of the Ban Figures
The supplied report does not give the newsletter’s publication date, identify the exact “previous school year” covered by PEN America’s figures, or explain how the organization defines and counts an “instance” of book banning. The figures are attributed to PEN America and are not independently verified in the material provided. The roundup also does not list every title or school district included in the count.
Several details are prospective: the Studio Museum book is listed for October 27, and the Catherine Liu event for October 11, but the source does not give the year for those dates. It does not report attendance, outcomes or further details for the events. The newsletter’s comments about book challenges establish its framing, not a new policy decision or a change in the status of any particular book.
history of the Studio Museum in Harlem book
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Upcoming Books and Events
Readers can look for the Studio Museum in Harlem history on its listed publication date of October 27 and check the venue’s information for details about the October 11 Catherine Liu book launch. The Brooklyn Public Library discussion is listed for 6:30 p.m. on the day the newsletter was published, but that date is not included in the supplied text.
Hyperallergic’s roundup points readers to further reviews and the New York Art Book Fair selections rather than announcing a new program or policy. Any subsequent developments in school book challenges, or updated figures from PEN America, are not included in the report.
art books on social justice and censorship
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Key Questions
What is Hyperallergic’s Banned Books Week article?
It is a books newsletter and reading roundup featuring art-book reviews, recommendations, publishing news and event listings, framed around Banned Books Week.
What book-ban figures does the newsletter cite?
The newsletter says PEN America tracked more than 11,900 instances of book banning in public schools during the previous school year, including more than 8,100 in Texas. The supplied material does not specify the school year or counting method.
Which art books are featured?
The roundup discusses a book about J. M. W. Turner and the slave trade and a book on craftspeople in Ancient Egypt. It also previews The Studio Museum in Harlem: A History, scheduled for October 27.
What events does the newsletter list?
It lists an artistic-freedom conversation at the Brooklyn Public Library, moderated by Hrag Vartanian, and an October 11 launch for Catherine Liu’s Traumatized at Artbook at MoMA PS1 Bookstore. The source does not provide the year for the October date.
Source: rss
Halloween Picks
halloween
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
