Wake Now in the Fire, by Jarrett Dapier and AJ Dungo
Working from exile in France, Marjane Satrapi composed a bitter denunciation of Iran’s regime in the form of a graphic novel, Persepolis. The dark, moody screed was translated into English and published to international acclaim and adapted as an Oscar-winning animated film. Persepolis was widely introduced as a teaching tool in U.S. schools but in 2013 was abruptly banned by Chicago Public Schools.
Wake Now in the Fire is a graphic novel about censorship, based on the true-life ban against a graphic novel about a censorious regime. The narrative is fictional but the campaign to remove the book from classrooms was real. Co-author Jarrett Dapier is a Chicago librarian and children’s book author; AJ Dungo is a graphic novelist. Working in text balloons and blue-gray hues outlined in black, they tell a story of teachers and students rising up against the seemingly arbitrary decision by school administrators, based on vague concerns over “language and images.” Wake Now’s publication is timely. “These are the kind of actions that allow the atrocities suffered by Iranians to become reality, like, anywhere!” on student says.
Get Wake Now in the Fire on Amazon here.
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