One would think that more than four decades after it was declared “not obscene” by the Supreme Court, Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer would be on more or less solid ground in our enlightened 21st century. Not so. A 17-year-old Dallas student checked out the book out from the Hulsey Public Library, told her parents that she felt it was “inappropriate,” and has caused Miller’s name to be removed from a Terrell High School list of “approved authors.” It is unknown whether the student or the student’s parents actually read the book, but it’s worth noting that the city’s library director had “received no prior complaints about the novel.” You know, most reasonable people simply don’t read authors they aren’t interested in and let those who are interested in studying them do so without rancor. Henry Miller meant a good deal to me when I read him as a teenager. I’d hate to have had this reading experience uprooted by someone who found him “inappropriate.” (via Bookshelves of Doom)
this isnt a “middle america” thing. the same thing happens at poo-poo st. marks books, but in a subtler way. miller, kerouac, bukowski, dick, etc… they are not kept in the stacks they are kept behind the counter so they dont get stolen. its censorship for sure. the books are “available” but ‘different’.
what gets me (well, after the name of the school being Hulsey which sounds profane to me) is that this student was offended by reading “string a zither across her navel”. or is it “string a zither up her ass”? tania. the one hes reminded of when he sees boris’ goatee on the pillow.