Results tagged “Banned Books” from Iwasaki Library Blog

Literature has most often been suppressed or banned because of sexual content. As national obscenity laws have evolved so has the public's response to so-called "smut" books. Once considered so lewd that it was only publishable in Italy in order to avoid English censors, D.H. Lawrence's titillating classic Lady Chatterley's Lover is now firmly ensconced in the canon of great works of the English language. Despite some of it's earthy language, Lady Chatterley's Lover is as much an indictment against industrialization and the dulling effect social hierarchies have on the human condition as it is a torrid love story.

Books like The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio, first written in 14th century Italy, found themselves banned in the United State simply for referencing sexual activity. Having survived seven centuries of criticism and attack, The Decameron is now widely read as an early example of allegorical social criticism and has even been credited with inspiring Geoffrey Chaucer to write The Canterbury Tales. Even notorious novels like John Cleland's Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure have stood the test of time and are now studied as early examples of erotic literature. Academics demonstrate new and insightful readings of these works all the time, demonstrating how historical texts can shed new light on current social issues.

Want to read more about pornography's checkered relationship with literature? Check out some of these titles: Porn 101, Sex Literature and Censorship, and Perspectives on pornography : sexuality in film and literature. For a thorough grounding in pornography's evolution from obscenity to art, check out all three volumes of Pornography and sexual representation in the reference section.

Ray Bradbury's classic portrayal of a futuristic dystopia where "firemen" actual set fires--to books, in fact--instead of extinguishing them has long had its share of admirers and critics alike. Since its publication in 1953, Fahrenheit 451 has also topped the challenged book lists, particularly in school and young adult libraries.

In Facts on File's Banned Books series, Fahrenheit 451's history is long and storied. Ballantine Books, the original publisher, issued a censored and edited version of the book to be sold exclusively to high schools. Words like "hell" and "damn" and references to drunkenness and abortion were eliminated from the book. No references to these edits were made on the copyright pages, and many people read the novel without ever being aware that an "adult" edition existed. Eventually, Ballantine ceased publishing the original version all together, and even Bradbury remained ignorant of these changes. Finally, in 1979, over 25 years after its initial publication, Bradbury was alerted to the censoring of his book and immediate demanded a recall of the highly edited version.

Since 1980, the complete and original text of Fahrenheit 451 has been the only one available, thanks to Bradbury's demands and the keen eyes of some savvy readers. If you want to read a great indictment against censorship, check out this classic. Or take a look at legendary director Francois Truffaut's film adaptation or a graphic novel interpretation of Bradbury's text .

As Banned Books Week continues all this week, check out some of the materials the library has on art and censorship. After all, bans are not limited to books alone. Facts on File released an update to its series, Banned Books, in 2006. These books, divided into four subject areas, discuss in depth the censorship history of some of the most challenged texts in English literature. Featured are Literature Suppressed on Religious Grounds, Literature Suppressed on Political Grounds , Literature Suppressed on Social Grounds, and Literature Suppressed on Sexual Grounds. Each book lists challenged titles alphabetically, offers a synopsis of the work focusing on the elements that give rise to argument, and also provides a history of censorship of the work. Everything from religious documents to children's books is investigated.

To find out even more about the history of censorship and art, try doing some keyword searches in the catalog!

In turn of the century America, Boston became notorious for its strict policing of perceived prurience in the arts. Books, films, even performances were all subject to being "banned in Boston," as lawmakers and censors followed in the footsteps of Anthony Comstock's heavy-handed crusade against obscenity in New York. Comstock was also responsible for the "Comstock Law," a Congressional bill illegalizing the transportation and delivery of items deemed lewd, obscene or otherwise dangerous. Since the law could not exactly determine what an individual might perceive as obscene, it was left open to wide interpretation. It was no more widely interpreted than in Boston.

Author Christopher M. Finan covers this period of censorship history very well in From the Palmer Raids to the Patriot Act: a history of the fight for free speech in America. Finan notes that much of Boston's fervor over decency in publications stemmed from the Watch and Ward Society, a censorship group founded in 1878 and dedicated to restricting and eliminating access to inappropriate literature. At its most powerful, the society ensured that the Boston Public Library had questionable materials under lock and key, and they made sure librarians only doled out those works to patrons who could prove a legitimate research interest.

By the 1920s, the social tide towards censorship was turning. What was once fervently supported as a measure to protect the minds of the innocent was now perceived as authoritarian and ignorant. Finan quotes aptly from an editorial in the Boston Herald: "Do not make us ridiculous [...] Do not imply to the world that those whom we elect to office have no comprehension ... of intellectual freedom" (99).

Eventually, writers and editors of the age, as well as their readership, began to question the validity of the Comstock Laws. Groups like the Watch and Ward Society slowly lost their power, particularly when noted intellectuals like H.L. Mencken challenged such censorship in the courts. In the wake of Nazi book burnings in Germany in 1933, over 100,000 Americans protested in major cities across the nation, signifying that this country would never allow the state to fully determine the value of art. That same year, U.S. District Court judge John M. Woolsey lifted the eleven year Customs Bureau ban on James Joyce's Ulysses, a novel which still tops many publishers' lists of great books written in the 20th century. Of his decision, Judge Woolsey wrote: "When such a real artist in words, as Joyce undoubtedly is, seeks to draw a true picture of the lower middle class in a European city, ought it to be impossible for the American legally to see the picture?" (Finan 108).

Each year, libraries celebrate the history of censorship in America during Banned Books Week, taking place September 26th - October 2nd this year. As we look at books and films that have been banned, challenged or censored in some way, we can appreciate the value of intellectual freedom and examine how far we have come in terms of free speech and consider how far we have to go.

Celebrate the freedom to read! The following display features some of the most challenged library books from 1990-2000. Learn more about banned books week and the frequently challenged books on the American Library Association's Facebook and myspace pages.