BOOKS: Author put it just right

I would like to quote, in part, a letter written by author Pat Conroy when he was informed that two of his novels, “The Prince of Tides” and “Beach Music,” were being suppressed by parents of high school students in Charleston, W.Va.

“The world of literature has everything in it and it refuses to leave anything out. I have read like a man on fire my whole life because the genius of English teachers touched me with the dazzling beauty of language. 

“I’ve been in 10,000 cities and have introduced myself to a hundred thousand strangers all because I listened to my fabulous English teachers. I cherish and praise them and thank them for finding me when I was a boy and presenting me with the precious gift of the English language.  

“The school board of Charleston, West Virginia has sullied that gift and shamed themselves and their community. You’ve now entered the ranks of censors, book banners and teacher haters. But here is my favorite thing: Because you banned my books, every kid in that county will read them. Because book banners are invariably idiots, they don’t know how the world works ­— but writers and English teachers do.”

LAUREN HOPKINS

Hayden Lake