{"id":110901,"date":"2025-09-01T02:11:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T02:11:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/110901\/"},"modified":"2025-09-01T02:11:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T02:11:09","slug":"margaret-atwood-takes-aim-at-albertas-school-library-books-ban-with-satirical-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/110901\/","title":{"rendered":"Margaret Atwood takes aim at Alberta\u2019s school library books ban with satirical story"},"content":{"rendered":"

Margaret Atwood is taking aim at Alberta\u2019s controversial ban on school library books containing sexual content with a new, satirical short story after the famed author\u2019s novel \u201cThe Handmaid\u2019s Tale\u201d was yanked from some shelves due to the province\u2019s sweeping new rules.<\/p>\n

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In a social media post on Sunday, Atwood said since the literary classic is no longer suitable in Alberta\u2019s schools, she has written a short story for 17-year olds about two \u201cvery, very good children\u201d named John and Mary.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey never picked their noses or had bowel movements or zits,\u201d she said in the beginning of her story.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey grew up and married each other, and produced five perfect children without ever having sex.\u201d<\/p>\n

Atwood said the duo paid no attention to the poor and \u201cforgiving your enemies and such; instead, they practised selfish rapacious capitalism.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Atwood goes on to say that the duo never die because \u201cwho wants to dwell\u201d and they lived happily ever after.<\/p>\n

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\u201cBut while they were doing that The Handmaid\u2019s Tale came true and (Premier) Danielle Smith found herself with a nice new blue dress but no job,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe end.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Last week, the Edmonton Public School Board, one of Alberta\u2019s largest, announced it was yanking more than 200 books from its schools this year to comply with a July order by Alberta\u2019s education ministry to remove books from school libraries that carry \u201cmaterials containing explicit sexual content\u201d by Oct. 1.<\/p>\n

The board\u2019s list of books it was removing gave the first glimpse of the effects of Alberta\u2019s book ban in schools.<\/p>\n

The list also included Maya Angelou\u2019s \u201cI Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,\u201d Aldous Huxley\u2019s \u201cBrave New World,\u201d and books by authors like Alice Munro and Ayn Rand.<\/p>\n

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On Friday, Smith said Edmonton\u2019s public school board had gone over the top in complying with the ban and the division\u2019s list is a form of \u201cvicious compliance.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also showed excerpts from graphic novels during a news conference \u2014 including \u201cGender Queer\u201d by Maia Kobabe \u2014 that prompted the new rules in the first place for the explicit illustrations of sexual acts they contain.<\/p>\n

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Public School Board chair Julie Kusiek, in a statement, said the list meets the criteria set out by the government and anyone unhappy with it should contact Alberta Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides.<\/p>\n

Other school divisions are expected to come up with lists in the coming days.<\/p>\n

Smith has suggested Alberta\u2019s education ministry could form a working group to work with school boards and go through books to discuss if the content is appropriate.<\/p>\n

Atwood, Smith and Alberta\u2019s education ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Atwood\u2019s short story on Sunday.<\/p>\n

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