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(Updated Today) The Big Read kicked off in flames Tuesday evening at the Cedar City Library with a mock book burning as the opening event to illustrate the month-long celebration of Ray Bradbury's book Fahrenheit 451.
Students, educators and Cedar City residents turned out to the event to add their own chosen titles to the pile of misprinted and damaged books, a symbolic gesture of censorship and the act of burning "offensive" material, said Luene Byers, Big Read project coordinator.
"It's all about choice," she said. "We don't have the right to tell people what to read. That is what censorship is all about."
To further illustrate the controversy over banned or challenged books, there were several staged events with participants pretending to protest the book burning.
A banned-book list also hung near the fire where people could add to the list frequently challenged books, or literary works they thought should be banned because of offensive material, Byers said.
"Some people look at the list and are just appalled at some of the titles they see on there," she said.
Prior to the mock book burning, a few individuals requested that they be allowed to bring actual books to burn, Byers said. However, the request was denied because the purpose of the mock book burning was not to promote the burning of books, but was a chance to inform people about censorship.
"We wanted this to be an awareness raising event," she said.
Jackie Hale, a librarian at the Cedar City Library, said she was pleased with the turnout for the event.
"This has turned out great," she said. "I hope they have read (Fahrenheit 451) so they can understand that it is not right to burn any book."
After the mock book burning, people attending the event gathered inside the library to listen to keynote speaker, Rod Decker from KUTV News, who spoke about the two central themes surrounding Fahrenheit 451: censorship and the influence of television on reading.
By analyzing the two themes of the book, Big Read participants can take away a good idea of "intellectual freedom," Byers said.
Byers daughter, Caitlyn Byers, a sophomore English major from Cedar City, said she has been looking forward to the Big Read for months.
"It's cool to see so many people here," she said. "I think it is helpful for people to look at the list and see what kinds of books are on there."
Upcoming events for the Big Read include a book reading marathon that will begin at 9 a.m. today and will continue until 9 p.m. at the Cedar City Library.
Book discussions, and scheduled story times will also contribute to the list of Big Read activities. For more information about the Big Read, check out www.youseemore.com/cedarcity.
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