I heard on the radio last Wednesday [Nov. 19] that Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court had ruled that a school board in Franklin County had the power to set conditions on how a high school teacher could teach a novel — a ruling that may extend powers affirmed under previous court rulings.

I looked feverishly in the next day’s paper in search of more information about the ruling and reaction from Maine teachers, students and citizens. No story appeared.

The controversy surrounding the highly acclaimed novel “Bastard Out of Carolina” is like so many struggles over academic freedom. Critics had not bothered to read the book, became upset by a few select passages, and failed to grasp the issues of human dignity and family relations the book explores. The book exposes the grotesque realities faced by many families that suffer with child abuse — secrecy, love, dignity, betrayal — and deserves a careful reading.

Are there are other stories we’re missing? Marie Tessier Bangor