Dear Vice President Joe Biden,
Welcome to Asheville this Tuesday, October 2. We’re excited about your visit. The POP Project, a local nonprofit, knows you will enjoy your stay here.
We invite you to take in the beautiful views, have a few local craft brews, and please remember to join us downtown for “Paint the Town REaD,” Asheville’s own celebration of Banned Books Week (September 30 – October 6, 2012).
We will be reading downtown all day, October 2, from 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM in front of the Vance Monument. (Your Secret Service agents know how to find it. It’s the big, large, um, monolith in the center of our city.)
You’ll immediately recognize us. We’ll be the literature lovers with words and symbols and imagery flowing from our tongues. The POP Project finds new homes for used books. Today, we are taking a stand to ensure that no book goes unread due to censorship. “Paint the Town REaD” participants will read all day from their favorite banned or challenged books.
What is a banned or challenged book? Good question. If you’ve ever read Mark Twain, Dr. Seuss, Kurt Vonnegut, or even selections from Harry Potter, you’ve likely read a book someone wanted to ban.
Literacy made us who we are. And imagine being literate in a world without books. Open access to all sorts of books is one of the foundations of a free society. Sort of like democracy.
Feel free to campaign in Asheville. Thank you for keeping our little burg on the national map. But please, Mister Vice President, take a few minutes from your day and read a banned book with us downtown.
We have a copy of Lois Lowry‘s “The Giver” just for you.
Sincerely,
The POP Project
Because Everyone Deserves a Good Book
