Unauthorized removal of window art from local bookstore
by Dennis Rahm
For 24 years now Riverwalk Books in Chelan has participated in the annual celebration of Banned Books Week. Owner Libby Manthey reports that for one reason or another, the large chalk-paint art drawing that was placed on her front window Sunday night somehow disappeared after closing hours on Tuesday evening.
The word “BANNED” was spelled out graffiti style on the front window and Manthey is unsure if it was removed by a good Samaritan thinking it was graffiti, or if it was removed by someone who disagreed with the message.
“At least they did a nice job of cleaning up” said Manthey. She also invited anyone who disagrees with the message to come into the store and have a conversation about Banned Book Week.
In the meantime, a multi-colored version of the message has already been reapplied and the incident is under investigation by the Chelan County Sheriff’s office. The removal of the statement has been reported on by Shelf Awareness, a national book industry online news source, and the incident was also noted by the American Booksellers Association.
Banned Books Week runs September 23-29. Notable books that have been banned over the years include To Kill a Mockingbird, Winnie the Poo, Tom Sawyer, Captain Underpants and the Harry Potter series to name a few.
Lake Chelan Now happened to take a couple of pictures earlier this week of the original art before the window was “cleaned”. We also found a couple of photography students from Chelan High School who were on assignment to capture words and letters throughout town.
