Vonnegut, Kurt, Jr. -- Essay (2004-08-06), “I Love You, Madame Librarian,” In These Times Magazine, Vol. 29, No. 20 (2004-08-30)

Dave — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 08:38:35 +0000

And on the subject of burning books: I want to congratulate librarians, not famous for their physical strength or their powerful political connections or their great wealth, who, all over this country, have staunchly resisted anti-democratic bullies who have tried to remove certain books from their shelves, and have refused to reveal to thought police the names of persons who have checked out those titles.
So the America I loved still exists, if not in the White House or the Supreme Court or the Senate or the House of Representatives or the media. The America I love still exists at the front desks of our public libraries.

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (1922-2007) American novelist, journalist
Essay (2004-08-06), “I Love You, Madame Librarian,” In These Times Magazine, Vol. 29, No. 20 (2004-08-30)
(Source)

Collected in A Man without a Country, ch. 9 "Do Unto Others" (2005).

L'Engle, Madeleine -- Speech (1983-11-16), “Dare To Be Creative,” Lecture, Library of Congress, Washington, DC

Dave — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 18:10:08 +0000

We think because we have words, not the other way around, and the greater our vocabulary, the greater our ability to think conceptually. The first people a dictator puts in jail are the writers, the teachers, the librarians — because these people are dangerous. They have enough vocabulary to recognize injustice and to speak out loudly about it. Let us have the courage to go on being dangerous people.

Madeleine L'Engle (1918-2007) American writer
Speech (1983-11-16), “Dare To Be Creative,” Lecture, Library of Congress, Washington, DC
(Source)

WIST Quotations

Vonnegut, Kurt, Jr. -- Essay (2004-08-06), “I Love You, Madame Librarian,” In These Times Magazine, Vol. 29, No. 20 (2004-08-30)

L'Engle, Madeleine -- Speech (1983-11-16), “Dare To Be Creative,” Lecture, Library of Congress, Washington, DC