Banned Writers Unbound

This Banned Books week, we’re proud to present a series of Community Conversations that reflect on the power and peril of language. The schedule includes four separate conversations, each anchored by short texts that raise enduring questions of freedom, expression, and responsibility.

Audre Lorde reminds us that unspoken truths can be more dangerous than risks taken; George Orwell warns that careless language clouds thought and enables power; Langston Hughes and Mary Oliver offer distinct visions of belonging, one rooted in justice, the other in the solace of nature; and the music of the Beatles, Nina Simone, and the Rolling Stones captures competing sounds of revolution: restraint, urgency, and irony. Together, these texts and songs invite us to consider how words, images, and voices shape freedom and responsibility.

Community Conversations are not lectures or debates, but inclusive and respectful collaborations where every participant’s voice matters. Whether familiar with the readings or new to them, you will find space to listen, reflect, and share.

In a time when books and ideas are again under threat, Banned Writers Unbound affirms that the humanities belong to everyone. By gathering, we defend the role of free expression in a democracy and imagine together what justice might require of us.

All programs will take place at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library, who we’ve worked with to create this series. Consult the schedule below for exact times and meeting places — and don’t forget to register!