Summary: Thirty Years Of Liberating Literature is theme for this 30th anniversary of Banned Books Week (September 30 through October 6). To observe the week, AADL welcomes acclaimed poet and publisher Mariela Griffor, who will read from her work and discuss her extraordinary life - which forms a framework for much of her poetry. This event includes a book signing and books will be on sale. The many literary accomplishments of Mariela Griffor followed many years of involuntary exile from her native Chile. A firm supporter of freedom of speech, Mariela fled to Sweden in 1985 following the violent death of her boyfriend at that time. She moved to Grosse Pointe in 1998 with her American husband and two daughters. The author of "Exiliana" and "House," she is the Honorary Consul of Chile in Michigan and founder of Michigan's Marick Press, a not-for-profit literary publisher, founded to preserve the best work by poets of the American Midwest. Mariela co-founded The Institute for Creative Writers at Wayne State University and her work has appeared in periodicals across Latin America and the United States. She holds a B.A in Journalism from Wayne State University and M.F.A. in Creative Writing from New England College. Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment and highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship. It is sponsored by the American Booksellers Association; American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression; the American Library Association; American Society of Journalists and Authors; Association of American Publishers; and the National Association of College Stores. It is endorsed by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.
