Banned Books Celebration 2026

In honor of Banned Book Week 2026, please stop by the library on Wednesday, October 7th for a day-long event "Championing Free Expression in a Time of Censorship: Banned Books, the Legacy of Kurt Vonnegut, and what Freedom of Expression means to the Xavier Community."

Come listen to various faculty/community members read from the banned books that have mattered to them in the CLC Atrium from 9:30am to 4pm. While there, pick up some swag or make your own banned book button, and graffiti your own favorite banned book passages, or what anti-censorship means to you, on our community banner.

In concert with these open readings, the Humanities Reading Room will also highlight its own collection of books that have been banned and invite attendees to peruse them.

At 4:30pm, join us on the 1st floor of the library for our main event--a reception and guest lecture by Chris Lafave, curator of the Vonnegut Museum and Library in Indianapolis, about Kurt Vonnegut's work and legacy of free expression. Free and open to everyone

Works Featured from the Humanities Reading Room

Howl by Allen Ginsberg

Poems of Nazim Hikmet

Selected Poems, García Lorca, Federico, 1898-1936

Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman