#SpeakLoudly
September 20, 2010
The fact that there are people who think teens shouldn’t read a YA novel about rape, who call Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak “soft pornography”, only makes the book that much more important. Rape and sexual assault occur with alarming frequency, yet 60% of these crimes are not reported to the police. Books like Speak can help victims find their voice, and we desperately need them for this reason.
Many, many other bloggers have written eloquently about this, more articulately than I can. And I have so much admiration for the survivors who are sharing their own stories.
Reclusive Bibliophile is compiling posts. Please read them.
Advertisement
4 Comments
leave one →
This YouTube video of Anderson reading her poem Listen, underscores the impact her YA novel, Speak, has had on readers. The first and last lines of the poem are Anderson’s words, the rest are excerpts from letters she has received from readers.
I teach 1oth grade English and I fought tooth and nail to teach SPEAK in my classroom. The district approved it but we have to have parental consent because of the rape scene. Thankfully, 100% of my parents approved the novel. I am thrilled to say my students LOVED it (reading it in other classes LOVED it) and we had such fantastic and realistic discussions. We were able to talk openly about relationships, rape, drinking, and how teenagers think adults feel about them. I can’t wait to teach it again in the Spring!