Yesterday I got an email from David Michael Slater, a writer based in Portland, Oregon. He has written two books that have caused quite a brouhaha. Apparently some people do not like the books because the main characters in the stories "uncover historical facts at odds with traditional Biblical stories." The books are fictional and do not pretend to discuss the bible in any historical or theological sense. Unfortunately David and his books have been verbally attacked in the press and on the web. I have invited David to present his side of the story here on the TTLG blog.I've been asked numerous times in the last few days how I feel about the exponentially increasing attention being paid to the “The Sacred Books Controversy." Volume I of the series, THE BOOK OF NONSENSE, came out in October of 2008 from a wonderful, but very small, publisher in Texas, Blooming Tree Press/CBAY. Like most small presses, it had a hard time attracting national reviews. Thanks to bloggers though, word did get out. (See the nearly three- dozen Amazon reviews, for example). It was nominated for a Cybil and was a finalist for the Publisher's for Children's Best Books 2008 list. Nonetheless, it made nary a blip on the national radar.
Volume II was just released, and it seems to have brought out the worst in some folks. I'm happy to say it's also bringing out the best. It's difficult to describe the controversy without divulging critical plot points, but the gist of the issue here is that the series turns in a "Da Vinci Code"-like direction as the teen protagonists uncover historical facts at odds with traditional Biblical stories. The book, mind you, is fiction and has no aspirations to be taken as anything else. This, as you might not be surprised to know, isn't good enough for some. Here are some recent headlines. This from a suburban Portland paper: "Beaverton teacher’s latest tome tinkers with sacred texts” and “Sacred Books’ series may be banned by Christian Groups for fictional recounting of Bible stories"; This from Ron Charles of the Washington Post: "High school teacher in Oregon sees condemnation by conservative Christians spurring sales of his YA SACRED BOOKS series"; and this from Margie Boule in The Oregonian: "Beaverton teacher's teen adventure series is stirring up a storm.” Perhaps you can predict the reactions, but feel free to go here to read them, and please feel free to join the conversation (and see what I mean about the best and worst coming out): http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/margie_boule/index.ssf/2009/12/beaverton_teachers_teen_advent.html. It seems someone has been trying to hack into my website since this all began, which is to say the least, very concerning.
I'm not sure how to give an honest response about my feelings. I certainly never dreamed of getting my books noticed because people want to burn them. They were supposed to be celebrated for their unique combination of wit and wisdom and clever, thought-provoking plots. (Stop smirking!) But now, after publishing nearly 20 small press books (picture books, teen and adult novels) in the last nine years—not one of which garnered any attention remotely close to this—what I can say? I'm thrilled. I'm handing out cans of lighter fluid and asking only that folks buy them before they burn them. This is the real measure of how far I've fallen. But hark: in the span of two weeks they've gone from Beaverton to Boulé, and now requests have come in for copies from The Jim Lehrer Show, The Progressive, Publishers Weekly, and the AP. Soon the chains might even notice them (gasp!). Taking umbrage at this point would be disingenuous. So, I'm not taking it. 'Tis the season anyway to remember that it's better to give than to receive.
I can’t say how much I appreciate the help beginning to pour in, help in the form of e-mail, blogs and a general message that people care when censorship rears its ugly head. If folks want to spread word about my books to express their righteous anger, I can only say…thank you.
Sincerely,
David Michael Slater
I plan on making sure that I read and review these books for myself in the near future.
