by Ann Kjellberg, editor Unpacking a bit the controversy around so-called “sensitivity readings,” why we preserve what we preserve, and the case of Roald Dahl
Thank you for weighing in on this. Also, thank you explaining your context.From outside the literary world I appreciate your description of your place within that world as a way of making your position clear.
When I came to read Grimm’s fairytales to my kids, I was excited to share the transporting feeling of escape into once upon a time, only to find gruesome descriptions I was horrified were in the stories I loved, and I put the books down. Mom was around, and I asked her about these beloved books and the content that was so harrowing, with a ‘what were you thinking/did I block all of that out??’ pleading tone, and she looked at me with confusion at my lack of understanding. “I didn’t read those parts to you, dear.”
Of course.
Which is a dimension of the children’s life in literature that has to be considered: readers are free to edit as they see fit for their audience. In fact, it is often required. (As surprising as it is to imagine mom Protecting me from stories of a cruel fictional world.) I readjusted my sense of my role in that moment. Better they discover some things on their own, and not through my voice.
Thanks, Ann. I appreciate reading your perspective as an editor and literary executor. I was relieved to find out that the original publications will remain in print and that the bowdlerized versions will be clearly marked. I can't help feeling a little sorry for the kids who will read the edited versions instead of the grittier originals, all for the sake of profit. It's not as though the originals are unpublishable.
Thank you for weighing in on this. Also, thank you explaining your context.From outside the literary world I appreciate your description of your place within that world as a way of making your position clear.
When I came to read Grimm’s fairytales to my kids, I was excited to share the transporting feeling of escape into once upon a time, only to find gruesome descriptions I was horrified were in the stories I loved, and I put the books down. Mom was around, and I asked her about these beloved books and the content that was so harrowing, with a ‘what were you thinking/did I block all of that out??’ pleading tone, and she looked at me with confusion at my lack of understanding. “I didn’t read those parts to you, dear.”
Of course.
Which is a dimension of the children’s life in literature that has to be considered: readers are free to edit as they see fit for their audience. In fact, it is often required. (As surprising as it is to imagine mom Protecting me from stories of a cruel fictional world.) I readjusted my sense of my role in that moment. Better they discover some things on their own, and not through my voice.
Thanks, Ann. I appreciate reading your perspective as an editor and literary executor. I was relieved to find out that the original publications will remain in print and that the bowdlerized versions will be clearly marked. I can't help feeling a little sorry for the kids who will read the edited versions instead of the grittier originals, all for the sake of profit. It's not as though the originals are unpublishable.