Having grown up as a queer Iranian immigrant, Abdi Nazemian understands the challenge of being part of communities that often don’t fit together. And as the parent of two teenagers, he empathizes with parents who want to protect their children from the world.
But as the author of the award-winning novel Like A Love Story, which was the 16th book to be banned statewide across all Utah public schools in February 2025, Nazemian also knows that book bans are not the solution. Nezemian spoke at Let Utah Read’s annual Read-In about the need to keep books like his on shelves.
“We cannot let marginalized young people today feel that their stories aren’t welcome on the page, that their history isn’t worthy of being taught in schools, that their family is less than any other family,” he said.
Nazemian made a call for more empathy, understanding, and respect for each other during these trying times, “We must model what caring for our young people looks like, what talking respectfully across divides looks like. The more we communicate, the less we fear each other and the closer we get to understanding we have more in common than divides us.”
On February 13th, well over 300 people came together to defend their right to read and speak out against book banning and the censoring and suppressing of their First Amendment rights. Let Utah Read’s annual Read-In was made by community members for the community, where people came together to express their fears and anxieties, but also show support and encourage each other to continue the fight against book bans.
Utah is one of two states (with South Carolina) that has imposed a statewide “no read” book list, prohibiting these titles in all public school classrooms and libraries across the state. As of now 28 books have been banned statewide, impacting 41 public school districts and over 100 public charter schools.
The Read-In came weeks after a group of award-winning authors, students, and the estate of Kurt Vonnegut sued the state for violating their First Amendment rights.
Despite the bleak reality of the book-banning campaign in Utah, the messages and conversations at the Read-In did not center on despair or the dark days ahead but rather on the importance of unity, perseverance, empathy, and reading.
Calvin Crosby, co-owner of Salt Lake City’s The King’s English Bookshop and Executive Director of Brain Food Books – a nonprofit putting new books into the hands of those without regular access – focused on the joy of reading and the importance of accessibility to books. He also called out book banning groups for playing on parents’ anxieties to push for bans, by highlighting the way parents’ fears, rather than students’ safety, drives the book ban craze.
A student at Copper Hills High School, an avid reader and the daughter of a dedicated Utah librarian, spoke about the advantages of reading: the lessons she’s learned, the skills she developed, and the stories that moved her. However, she also discussed the harm book bans cause as those same advantages are increasingly being taken away. She said book bans do not protect children but are sowing division, distrust, and disappointment in the school system and the community at large.
The Read-In offered strength to a community severely affected by book bans. People of all backgrounds and ages came together to celebrate the power of words and access to diverse content. By the end of the Read-In, everyone shared a common goal: to continue to raise their voice and advocate for the right to read.
