An open letter published today on The New Statesman and signed by dozens of artists, authors, actors, politicians, and public thinkers, asserts that, in case you were wondering, “Sally Rooney is a writer, not a terrorist.”
The letter is a direct response to the backlash Rooney has faced following her announcement last week that she would no longer be able to sell her books in the United Kingdom, due to the British government’s ban on Palestine Action, a direct action group that Rooney supports with a portion of her novels’ profits.
The open letter, which is directed at the British government, asserts in plain language that “Sally Rooney is a writer, not a terrorist.” And moreover, her treatment by British leadership amounts to indirect censorship.
Her books must be available to the public. Their withdrawal from sale, on the basis of ill-conceived and draconian anti-terror legislation, is an affront to basic principles of free speech and expression so long taken for granted in this country. We categorically reject censorship—whether direct or indirect—and urge the government to change course, amending the legislation which has led us to this point of repressive absurdity.
Rooney’s growing list of supporters includes scholars like Amitav Ghosh, Namwali Serpell, Naomi Klein, and Slavoj Zizek. There are also plenty of literary peers repping the ramparts, from Sophie Kemp to Patricia Lockwood to Zadie Smith.
Both lead actors from the Normal People adaptation are on board the cri de couer. And then, so are some pleasing wild cards. Like Massive Attack.
Tanjil Rashid, the Statesman’s cultural editor, contextualized the letter in a strong op-ed that objects to both the United Kingdom’s widely framed anti-terror laws, and censorship broadly.
Hear, hear. In the Beautiful World…, books should be for everyone.