MEXICAN AMERICAN SPOKEN WORD ARTIST
BANNED BOOKS
Banned Books
Workshop by David A. Romero
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AGES: 12+
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$600 (plus travel and lodging)
Schedule:
Book activity - 30 minutes
Multimedia presentation and poems - 30 minutes
Student writing time - 30 minutes
Student reading time - 20 minutes
Student discussion time - 10 minutes
Total time: 120 minutes (2 hrs)
Description:
Students view a copy of the 100 most banned books in America and total the number of books they’ve read from the list.
Romero presents a short history of banned books, up to the present: with parents, educators, and officials banning books to restrict student knowledge of race, class, and gender, under the guise of protecting them from “obscenity.” He asks students to speak about the banned books they’ve read that have had an impact on them.
Romero asks them to imagine an open library, one where all ideas could be exchanged, and no books would be banned.
Purpose:
Banned Books seeks to promote literacy while educating students about an ongoing issue that threatens free speech in literature. Banned Books asks students to question why books are banned, realize the positive impact that banned books have had on them, and to become invested in the struggle to promote free speech in books.
CATEGORIES: POLITICS, CURRENT EVENTS, WRITING
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Banned Books has been presented at:
ï‚· Lone Star College - Kingwood in Kingwood, Texas
ï‚· Orangewood Foundation in Santa Ana, California
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Flyers:
David A. Romero has not yet developed a flyer template for this workshop. If you decide to book Banned Books Romero can design a flyer for the event for no extra fee.
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More:
Longer workshops, as well as multiple sessions, to culminate in a student “Slam,” (poetry competition) can be negotiated.
Professional-looking books and chapbooks to collect student work produced during workshops to be made available two months after workshops are conducted can also be negotiated.
*All workshops include a performance from David A. Romero.
**Workshop requires projector, projection screen, laptop connection, sound system and microphone (preferably cordless). Paper and writing utensils must be provided by students or host institution(s). If the college or university can check out as many of the banned books as possible from the library to have them available for the students to sift through, that is always a plus!
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$600 (plus travel and lodging)
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Travel and lodging can be handled in two ways: 1) the university makes the arrangements on Romero's behalf (preferred) or, 2) Romero makes the arrangements and is reimbursed with the total check.
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Can’t afford the rates? Contact Romero with an offer and see if he can write off the difference as a charitable donation!
For booking, contact: davidaromero@gmail.com
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