From the Committee Chairperson:

What an exciting time to be heading a committee on adolescent literature. Soon after being offered the opportunity to serve as the chair of the Tennessee Reading Association’s Adolescent Literacy Ad Hoc Committee, I ventured into a whirlwind of discourse. Prompted by Wall Street Journal columnist Meghan Cox Gurdon’s essay about the dark subject matter in young adult books, the storm surged onto Twitter, many blogs, and other online forums. But I have found that such squalls often result in some thoughtful and thought-provoking discourse. That was my thinking as I read award-winning author Sherman Alexie’s response, also published in the Wall Street Journal, to Gurdon’s essay over dark matter in young adult literature.

One point made by Gurdon in her essay was that young adult literature is a relatively new genre; we weren’t concerned about young adult literature 40 years ago because it did not exist. Does this mean teens did not read dark matter? When I was in teenager, I read Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange, Peter Maas’ Serpico, Ira Levin’s A Kiss Before Dying, and Stephen King’s Carrie. I’m sure many adults, some of my teachers included, would have found these titles inappropriate and too dark for teenagers, yet all the books were significant, eye-opening reads that confirmed for me much that I had suspected but had not been told about the world. I’m grateful for publishers’ book clubs and public libraries that gave me access to them.

I see a number of issues emerging from this debate about the content of young adult literature. One primary issue is how much input parents should have over the book selections offered in schools and classrooms. I also find it curious that Gurdon cites a bookseller’s assertion that many teens do not read young adolescent literature. Is this so? And if they are not reading the books, who does?

I’m curious to know what other TRA members think about the debate over content in young adult literature, and in the coming weeks I hope to talk with more of you on this topic. I also hope to hear from young adult readers.

But the focus of this website and committee is much more than young adult literature. Many other issues are out there for exploration—specific genres such as graphic novels and fantasy fiction, publishing industry changes brought on by technology and the internet, and new emphasis on non-fiction reading. My hope is that this page can serve as a source of information on all types of adolescent literature.

~Janet Isbell, Ph.D.