UNSPEAKABLE THINGS UNSPOKEN: On Censorship and Book Bans
a three-part series with Murmur Library
3/09/2025 - 3/09/2025 1pm - 2:30pm
Arts Lab, Level 1, Arts & Cultural Building, (Building 159) University of Melbourne
UMSU Gallery
Brought to you by the SSAF
SESSION ONE
Wednesday 3 September, 1-2.30PM
Arts Lab, Level 1, Arts and Cultural Building, Monash Road, Building 159 (MAP)
SESSION TWO
Tuesday 9 September, 1-2.30PM
Murmur Library, 11 Hope Street, Brunswick (MAP)
SESSION THREE
Wednesday 17 September, 1-2.30PM
Arts Lab, Level 1, Arts and Cultural Building, Monash Road, Building 159 (MAP)
RSVP NOW
Who decides what stories we’re allowed to read, and why?
Across libraries, school, and publishing houses, books are being challenged, censored, and quietly removed. From queer coming-of-age novels to First Nations history and speculative fiction, the stories that reflect marginalised voices are often the first to be banned.
But censorship doesn’t just affect books, it impacts people. Authors are deplatformed. Librarians face harassment. Teachers lose jobs for assigning certain texts. Journalists are blacklisted for speaking their truth. The act of silencing stories is never neutral, it’s a tool of control.
Join Murmur Library in exploring the politics of censorship, past and present. Through collaborative reading, creative zine making, and interactive activities, we’ll unpack why certain books are labelled “dangerous”, who gets silenced, and how communities resist. Come ready to read, question, and create.
Murmur Library is a decolonial community library that centres Black, Indigenous, and culturally diverse voices. Through its carefully curated collection of books, zines, and media, Murmur challenges the dominance of white literary traditions and creates space for stories too often silenced