This week the University of Illinois hosts the Free People Read Freely™ symposium. Our community is invited to attend all or part of this vital discussion which serves as the heartbeat of our democracy. I had a chance to chat with Laurie Matheson (Director, University of Illinois Press) and Anne Craig (Senior Director, Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois) last week about the importance of the efforts to defend our freedom and to preserve it for our children, our students, and our society.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Smile Politely: Describe the origin story for this event. Why this symposium and why now?
Laurie Matheson & Anne Craig: This event originated as a call in July 2023 from Dr. Timothy Killeen, president of the University of Illinois System, to develop an event that could communicate the value of publishers, libraries, and books in the face of persistent efforts to limit and restrict what people can read. Challenges to the freedom to read have been highlighted in the media and certainly in our professions. As the University of Illinois Press and the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI), we see the dampening effect that limits on intellectual freedom that book bans can have. In the course of the year we have been developing this symposium, banned book campaigns have continued to remove books from libraries.
Free reading supports the diversity that is central to our history and to our democracy. That’s why this symposium is so important right now. At the heart of reading freely is a free exchange of ideas and a sharing of different kinds of experience and points of view. Many books proposed for banning are by Black or brown authors, queer, and/or women authors and deal with topics and issues that are of particular interest to people in these communities. Through books, readers are able to see themselves reflected and affirmed, registered as present. Books create a common ground and a platform for sharing and processing ideas. Also, books can give readers resources and support for understanding and processing their own experiences as they navigate challenges such as adolescence, identity, and family and peer relationships
SP: What are some of the themes of the conference and how were the speakers chosen to reflect these?
Matheson and Craig: We wanted the program to represent a diversity of perspectives and voices to show as many points of view as possible; ultimately, to highlight how and why reading freely matters. We wanted to communicate multiple dimensions of reading freely, from the literary to the political. We wanted a mix of formats: keynotes, formal papers, roundtable discussions, theatrical renderings, and author meet and greet. We also tried to find ways for attendees to register their connections with banned books, so we are hosting a photo booth and a venue for sharing stories about the joy of reading.
Our symposium team worked together to find amazing keynote speakers from among leaders in the area of the freedom to read. Other speakers and panelists will also highlight the value of the freedom to read, learn, and explore, and how those freedoms have enriched their experiences. For keynote speakers, we wanted to bring individuals who have a personal investment in reading freely, and whose points of view, identities, and commitments would resonate with a diversity of audiences. We were able to secure George M. Johnson, who has experienced the banning of his own book and whose identity as a Black queer person may resonate with audiences who otherwise might not consider attending the event. To be in conversation with George M. Johnson, we were able to recruit Clint Smith, an award-winning author with a national reputation in both literary and political domains. To moderate the conversation, we reached out to Ruby Mendenhall, who is a faculty member on the Urbana campus and also an important community figure as Urbana poet laureate. Finally, we recruited Tony Diaz, a grassroots organizer in Latino communities whose important work has counteracted book bans by getting books important to these communities into people’s hands.
In addition, part of the intent of the symposium is to underscore the role of the University of Illinois and of higher education in supporting free reading. With this in mind, we tapped faculty, students, leaders, and programs connected with the University of Illinois System, University of Illinois Press, CARLI, Illinois Humanities, and the American Library Association.
SP: What do you hope participants gain from the two-day focus on literacy, inclusion, and democracy? What is the takeaway for our community?
Matheson and Craig: We hope that people feel engaged in the topics that surround the freedom to choose their own reading material. We hope this event will encourage attendees to broaden their own reading habits and to appreciate how different narrative voices, topics, content, and points of view can speak meaningfully to readers with very different experiences — and how affirming those differences can strengthen relationships and communities.
We hope attendees will gain new ways to consider how books that have been banned and are currently targeted for banning have registered in their own lives. We hope as they watch these book banning efforts pop up in the news that they will think about the effects of book banning on our democracy. We hope they will think about how they can respond to book banning efforts in their own communities, schools, and libraries. As the flagship university system in Illinois, we also want to celebrate and highlight the role that intellectual freedom plays in discovery, scholarship, and advancements in learning.
SP: What will the follow-up look like for this? Are there future events focused on free speech, literacy, and school and public libraries after this symposium?
Matheson and Craig: This event is part of an ongoing series of publishing symposia that present current information and best practices on various aspects of publishing. Certainly part of the follow-up is our ongoing work to publish and disseminate new scholarship that can speak to timely issues like book banning. While we have no current plans for follow-on events specifically on free speech, we hope that other organizations will be inspired to continue the discussion.
SP: What else would like our community to know ahead of the event?
Matheson and Craig: All of these symposium events are free and open to the public. Attendees will need to register and show their registration and ID before entering the events. Although it is too late to order a ticketed, at-cost box lunch, people may register here. On-site registration will also be available.
Free People Read Freely™ Symposium
Krannert Center for the Performing Arts
500 S Goodwin
Urbana
Tu Aug 20th, 8:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.
I Hotel and Conference Center
1900 S First St
Champaign
W Aug 21st, 8:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.
Free and open to the public
