Does Writing Have Limits?

     Should we limit creativity and set boundaries for imagination? By banning books we force writing into a dark corner that prohibits individuality and being able to speak out about our opinions on matters around the world. In Banned Books Week: 13 Authors Speak Out, every single author had the same impression about banning books. They all believed it to be a mistake, however, one author in particular caught my attention. Joseph Caldwell stated, "Literature is the national memory and if you censor, what you're doing is that you are reducing the human identity by removing these books from it and that is a very grave crime." I agree with him because in my opinion literature defines who we are. What we decide to read the genre whether it be horror, thriller, mythological or romantic tells something about us and our interests. By banning books you set standards and rules that authors must follow, and who says where the line is? The thought of there even being a line means some books that many of us enjoy could simply not exist today. It is our legal right as Canadians to have freedom of speech, and in my opinion self expression through writing is also another form of speech. I believe that this was what Joseph Caldwell was getting at when he said, "...by removing these books from it that is a grave crime." Literature to me is a source of knowledge and inspiration and the thought of someone censoring what I can and cannot read is like someone going into my house and telling me how to eat, sleep, speak and breathe, it is simply an abomination. Imagine if someone told William Shakespeare, Lewis Carroll, Arthur Conan Doyle and J.K. Rowling what they had to write about, what a boring world we would be living. If we are to continue to ban books the world could miss the next William Shakespeare, and the captivating adventure we are sent through, and banning should never be the reason our civilization stops being natural storytellers we were meant to be.