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The Handmaid Tale<\/span><\/i> author Margaret Atwood<\/strong> did not mince words over a proposed book ban in Alberta that would effectively remove over 200 books from public schools. According to the CBC<\/a>, the ban, which took effect on Sept. 2 just as Edmonton Public School students were returning to classrooms, was temporarily paused on Tuesday.<\/span><\/p>\n Atwood\u2019s novel that served as inspiration for Hulu\u2019s hit series was named on the list of books to be banned, in addition to classics such as <\/span>Brave New World<\/span><\/i> by Aldous Huxley, <\/span>The Great Gatsby<\/span><\/i> by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and George Orwell\u2019s <\/span>1984<\/span><\/i>. Other banned titles include works by authors such as George R. R. Martin, Stephen King, Judy Blume, and Maya Angelou.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The ban targets \u201cexplicit sexual content\u201d for students from kindergarten to grade 12, though students grades 10 and up will still have access to non-explicit sexual content, which refers to a \u201cdepiction of a sexual act that is not detailed or clear.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n On Sunday, ahead of the ban, Atwood took to social media to lambast Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides with a new \u201cpiece of literature\u201d ridiculing the measure. Atwood quipped that the piece should be \u201csuitable for 17-year-olds in Alberta schools,\u201d unlike her seminal novel.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cJohn and Mary were both very, very good children. They never picked their noses or had bowel movements or zits,\u201d the 85-year-old author <\/span>wrote on X<\/span><\/a>. \u201cThey grew up and married each other, and produced five perfect children without ever having sex.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Atwood continued, noting that although the couple claimed to be Christian, they did not follow the teachings of Jesus and instead practiced \u201cselfish rapacious capitalism.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSo they lived happily ever after. But while they were doing that, The<\/span> Handmaid\u2019s Tale<\/span><\/i> came true and Danielle Smith found herself with a nice new blue dress but no job,\u201d Atwood concluded, referring to the Alberta provincial premier whose government had ordered the ban. \u201cThe end.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n After the pause on the ban went into effect on Tuesday, Smith claimed that the rules were being revised and said that the list would not target classic novels.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019ll be paused for a couple of hours while the ministerial order is rewritten,\u201d Smith said, per the <\/span>CBC<\/span><\/a>. The direction will be to take books with pornographic images out of the libraries and to leave the classics alone. I think that there was some misunderstanding of the order, so it\u2019s being made clear.\u201d She added, \u201cWe are hoping that the school boards understand what we\u2019re trying to achieve.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Amid the confusion on Tuesday, Atwood likewise expressed her feeling in a brief statement to the <\/span>New York Times<\/span><\/i><\/a>. \u201cKindergarten students should not be reading it\u2014no contest!\u201d she reasoned. \u201cBut they weren\u2019t anyway. But 17 year olds?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Edmonton Public Schools is the second largest school board in Alberta. On Monday, the conservative province also instituted an order <\/span>banning transgender athletes<\/span><\/a> from competing in amateur female sports divisions.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n