– Gilead is not a democracy, but a theocracy. The people who want one, which is not the majority of Americans, want a state that they rule over and that forces everyone to follow their religion. Something that is completely against the US Constitution, says the Canadian author Margaret Atwood to Kulturnyheterna.
Forbidden books
According to a new report from PEN America, The Handmaid’s Tale from 1985 is one of the books banned in the most school districts in the United States during the last school year. And earlier this year, her book “Oryx and Crake” was also banned from school libraries in the state of Utah.
– People have been censoring and burning books for thousands of years, as long as there have been books, says Atwood and adds:
– This is not a real book ban.
Margaret Atwood emphasizes that it is a removal of books from school libraries, not a pile of books in the square where every single copy is burned.
– Which has been done when people really wanted to get rid of a book.
“But why my books?” Atwood asks rhetorically.
– Because there is sex in them, she says and smiles.