The Canadian province of Alberta has instituted a new book ban for school libraries, and one famous Canadian writer isn't taking it sitting down. Handmaid's Tale author Margaret Atwood responded to the ban, which orders school libraries to remove "materials containing explicit sexual content" by the first day of October, with a new (very) short story, the BBC reports. She posted it in its entirety on X, explaining that it's suitable for Alberta 17-year-olds, since their education ministry thinks they're "stupid babies." It focuses on John and Mary, two "very, very good children" who "never picked their noses or had bowel movements or zits," and eventually married each other and managed to have "five perfect children" without ever engaging in sexual intercourse.
The tale goes on to call out not only Atwood's own work (a line references the Handmaid's Tale coming true) but also Ayn Rand:
- Though the protagonists worshiped Rand, Atwood writes, "they ignored the scene in The Fountainhead where 'welcomed rape' is advocated, because who wants to dwell, and also that would have involved sex and would de facto be pornographic. Well, it kind of is, eh?"
It also calls out Danielle Smith, Alberta's premier,
who has been called "Canada's Ayn Rand in cowboy boots." Smith has been supportive of the ban, and recently spoke out regarding Edmonton Public School Board's actions, the
Canadian Press reports. The board, one of the largest in Alberta, announced it was removing more than 200 books to comply with the ban, including Maya Angelou's
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Aldous Huxley's
Brave New World. Smith called the move "vicious compliance," suggesting the board had purposely removed more than was necessary.