A collection of Stephen King novellas that inspired classic films including Stand by Me and The Shawshank Redemption has been banned from Utah public schools.
Published in 1982, the collection, titled Different Seasons, contains four novellas: Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption: Hope Springs Eternal, Apt Pupil: Summer of Corruption, The Body: Fall from Innocence, and The Breathing Method: A Winter’s Tale.
But earlier this month, the Davis, Jordan, Tooele and Washington school districts decided to remove the collection from their libraries, triggering a statewide ban by the Utah state board of education on 6 July. The book had previously been available to students in grades seven through 12, according to the board.
A book is removed from all public schools in the state if at least three school districts – or at least two school districts and five charter schools – determine that a book contains “objective sensitive material” defined under Utah code, according to Utah law.
Utah code defines “objective sensitive material” as “instructional material that constitutes pornographic or indecent” content. The statute further states that “sensitive material” includes content that is “harmful to minors”, pornographic, or that “includes certain fondling or other erotic touching”.
The Utah state board of education maintains a list of books currently banned under this code. As of 15 July, the list includes 35 titles, including The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
The removal of King’s Different Seasons comes as in January, the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah filed a lawsuit against state officials on behalf of the estate of Kurt Vonnegut and several bestselling authors, arguing that the book bans are “unconstitutional under the First and Fourteenth Amendments”.
In a news release announcing the lawsuit, the ACLU accused Utah of “trampling on the protections guaranteed by the First Amendment”.
