The Freedom to Read: Q&A with North Dakota Author Larry Watson
Right to Read: Q&A with North Dakota Authors
Welcome to the final installment of our Q&A author blog series, where we feature North Dakota authors who are speaking out against censorship and book bans. Special thanks to Cori Edgerton for her work on producing this series!
This week, we conclude the series with acclaimed novelist Larry Watson.
We asked him to share his perspective on the current climate of censorship and what we can all do to support the right to read.
1. What are your thoughts on the growing number of book bans and challenges across the country?
I'm distressed about it. It's one thing to find something in a book with which one disagrees, or is, for one reason or another, not to one's personal taste. It's quite another to mount an effort to prevent others from reading that book. To make the matter even worse, I have the impression that opposition to a book often comes from people who haven't even read the book, yet have formed an opinion on its contents.
2. Have any of your books ever been challenged or censored? If so, what was that experience like for you?
Yes. My novel, Montana 1948, has been challenged, and it's been banned. Anyone who writes and publishes books knows that their books are open to the judgement of readers, and those readers might make those judgements known. Writers hope those judgments–reviews of one kind or another–are at least thoughtful attempts to evaluate the book on its contents. I've been reviewed many times, and a bad review always stings. But to have readers, or a group of readers, try to keep that book out of the hands of others because they feel it's harmful–not simply bad but harmful–really hurts. And it displays a serious misunderstanding of what writers do when we put words on paper.
3. Has this climate of censorship changed how you approach your writing or the topics you choose to explore?
Not in the least.
4. What message would you share with those who are challenging or banning books?
Let's allow readers to make up their own minds about books. And parents, if you don't want your children to read a specific book, you should be allowed to keep that book out of their hands. You shouldn't, however, have the right to make that decision for other people's children.
What can people in North Dakota do to push back against censorship and support the right to read?
Support teachers and librarians. They are the front-line workers who have the best interests of students and readers in mind. Their efforts help keep our society open and free.
About the Author
Bio: Born in Rugby and raised in Bismarck, North Dakota, Larry Watson is the author of numerous acclaimed novels, including Montana 1948, Let Him Go, and White Crosses. He has also published Justice, a collection of short fiction, and the poetry collection Late Assignments. His fiction has been published in ten foreign editions and has received prizes and awards from Milkweed Press, Friends of American Writers, the New York Public Library, Critics’ Choice, and others. The film adaptation of his novel Let Him Go starred Kevin Costner and Diane Lane. Watson taught writing and literature at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point for 25 years, then joined the faculty at Marquette University in 2003 as a Visiting Professor, until his retirement in 2018.
Website: https://www.larry-watson.com/