{"id":111876,"date":"2025-09-03T16:17:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T16:17:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/111876\/"},"modified":"2025-09-03T16:17:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T16:17:07","slug":"margaret-atwood-satirizes-alberta-school-book-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/111876\/","title":{"rendered":"Margaret Atwood Satirizes Alberta School Book Ban"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tThe Handmaid\u2019s Tale writer Margaret Atwood<\/a> has published a satirical short story aimed at a controversial school library ban on books with \u201cexplicit sexual content\u201d in Alberta, including LGBTQ+ titles. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a social media post on X,<\/a> Atwood noted her classic novel, which was adapted into a popular Hulu<\/a> drama, had landed on the school book ban list in the western Canadian province. \u201cSorry, kids; your Minister of Education thinks you are stupid babies,\u201d she commented.<\/p>\n

\n\tAtwood then introduced her short story characters, John and Mary, who \u201cnever picked their noses or had bowel movements or zits.\u201d Her story adds: \u201cThey grew up and married each other, and produced five perfect children without ever having sex.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd while claiming to be Christian, Atwood wrote John and Mary didn\u2019t follow what Jesus Christ said about \u201cthe poor and the Good Samaritan and forgiving your enemies and such.\u201d Instead, the novelist continued, the couple \u201cpractice selfish rapacious capitalism, because they worshipped Ayn Rand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe short story concludes with a reference to Alberta premier Danielle Smith, who after ordering the removal of controversial books from school libraries with a ministerial order, on Tuesday ordered a \u201cpause\u201d to the book ban to introduce new rules. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSo they (John and Mary) lived happily ever after. But while they were doing that, The Handmaid\u2019s Tale came true and Danielle Smith found herself with a nice new blue dress, but no job. The end,\u201d Atwood wrote.<\/p>\n

\n\tOther books subject to the earlier book ban in Edmonton public schools include Aldus Huxley\u2019s Brave New World, Maya Angelou\u2019s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and Stephen Chbosky\u2019s The Perks of Being a Wallflower, which was adapted into a feature film.<\/p>\n

Here’s a piece of literature by me, suitable for seventeen-year-olds in Alberta schools, unlike \u2014 we are told \u2014 The Handmaid’s Tale. (Sorry, kids; your Minister of Education thinks you are stupid babies.) <\/p>\n

John and Mary were both very, very good children. They never picked\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 Margaret E Atwood (@MargaretAtwood) August 31, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n