One of the classes I took during undergrad was Censorship. The purpose of the seminar was to overcome the hesitation of writing about topics that each writer avoided out of fear and judgment. It influenced me so much that I took it twice. The program was taught by Don De Grazia. He wrote a book called American Skin. I read the book in my first creative writing course at  Columbia College Chicago’s Fiction program. It became my favorite book that year. Here were a few lessons I learned from those sessions.

Push the Boundaries

‘Writers’ sanity should be questioned. Artistic endeavors required tough skin. Numerous rejections were standard in all creative fields. Books got rejected because the ending does not satisfy the publishing team. Literature has had a long history of being considered controversial, which led to books being banned. Don often said, “Book banning is the best thing that can happen to a book.” Readers wanted to know why the work faced scrutiny. They flocked to the bookstore to purchase the aforementioned novel. Taboo subjects have been sold for centuries. Literature has had a long history of controversy.

Push by Sapphire was the first book we studied in the class. Push told the story of a young woman who had two children by her father by the time she turned sixteen. She was not educated because she had to drop out of school to give birth to her first baby. Sapphire wrote the book with the grammar that the main character used throughout the whole text. Sexual abuse of children wass labeled as heinous for obvious reasons. Sadly, it’s an unfortunate circumstance a portion of people experience in their lives. Those victims deserved to have a character that resonated with them. Stories were often pulled from shelves for societal comfort. Readers who discovered publications that existed outside of their comfort zone expanded their worldview.

Change Names

Another common obstacle authors encountered writing about their lives lay in the fear of backlash from loved ones. An easy solution has long existed. Writers changed names and called it fiction. Most people dismissed their suspicions with a simple “no” from the author in question. One exception, Jason Robert Brown, was sued by his ex-wife because his musical The Last Five Years‘ story was too similar to their divorce. Brown changed the character based on himself to a novelist, but crafted scenes in the show exactly as they happened off-stage.  Another instance that sparked outrage from the book community happened in 2008. James Frey exaggerated details in his memoir, A Million Little Pieces, which contained exaggerated details about his life to enhance the drama in the story. Frey went on to publish two more novels despite a public call out by Oprah Winfrey.

Everyone Has Different Levels

“Forbidden topics” were personal for each individual. Many authors were not be comfortable with writing sex scenes. The limit for someone else could be cursing in their stories. Addressing tough material with children utilized a similar practice. Children processed difficult subject matter if it was presented in a format they could understand. Television shows like Arthur and Sesame Street showed their young audiences episodes featuring loss, poverty, and members of the disability community. Exposure to diverse groups and hard conversations made navigating the world less intimidating because a particular instance wouldn’t catch someone off guard.

Censorship helped me expand my boundaries as a writer. Three lessons have stayed with me to this day. I wasn’t afraid to push the boundaries. The idea that controversy ignited interest over the years and has held validity to the human experience. I changed names to avoid awkward moments with loved ones. Messages can be adapted to fit within those parameters to draw awareness to sensitive issues.