Banned Books Display Is On Tour; 4 Years Overdue
"Huckleberry Finn," "Tom Sawyer" and "Alice in Wonderland" censored. "Robin Hood"—suppressed. "The Bible"—burned.
Ridiculous?
Not at all. These are only five examples of the many books and story materials represented in a traveling Banned Books display from Watson Library.
The display was originally designed for showing at KU in 1955. At the request of several librarians it was shown in a number of cities near Lawrence. Now it has been shown in more than a dozen cities and is booked in several distant states, still by unsolicited request, until November when it will come to Watson Library.
Some of the more famous works and where they were banned and why are:
"Huckleberry Finn," by Samuel Clemens, was originally censored by his wife, who cut out the profanity and other passages and one plate in the first edition. This same book is at present the center of controversy in at least one eastern city because it uses condescending language in reference to one of America's minority races.
His "Tom Sawyer" was banned in Concord, Mass., in 1885 as "trash and suitable only for the slums."
"Alice in Wonderland" was banned in Hunan Province of China in 1911 on the grounds that "animals should not use human language, and that it was disastrous to put animals and human beings on the same level."
The tale of "Robin Hood" was suppressed because it was said to have endorsed communism.
In 1525, 6,000 copies of "The Bible" were burned by clergymen in England because it was printed in English. This edition of "The Bible" has the dubious distinction of being the first book printed in England to be banned there.
The list of authors shown on the Banned Books display reads like a "Who's Who" of the world's great writers. Included are Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Shakespeare and Milton. Nor have modern writers escaped censorship. Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, James Joyce, John Steinbeck and Erskine Caldwell have all had some of their works taken off bookstore and library shelves. Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" was banned in Kansas City in 1939.
Boston has a well-earned reputation for being the strongest censorship center in the United States, but even this city cannot compete with Ireland. All of the books mentioned in this story were at one time banned in Ireland. Many modern authors have had not just one book censored there, but all of their works.
James Joyce's "Ulysses," which was banned in the United States and finally placed on the book shelves after a famous Supreme Court decision, is banned in Ireland. Joyce is a native of that country.
Ireland even has two grades of censorship—one in which the book is simply banned, and another in which the book is burned.
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John Milton wrote and printed "Areopagitica" without license and in defiance of a restraining ordinance. "Areopagitica" was subtitleled "A Speech for the Liberty of Unlicensed Printing to the Parliament of England, 1644." This staunch advocate of a free press later took a post under Cromwell—that of official censor.
Even newspapers and their supporters, long advocates of free thought and the right to print words, nearly any word, have had their turns at censorship.
The New York Times has occasionally refused to accept advertising for books which it considered questionable, including James T. Farrell's "A World I Never Made."
Accompanying the KU Banned
Book display is a pamphlet which opens with a warning by Milton, the theme of the exhibit:
"And yet on the other hand unless wariness be us'd, as good almost kill a Man as kill a good Booke; who kills a Man kills a reasonable creature, Gods Image, but hee who destroys a good Booke, kills reason it selfe, kills the Image of God, as it were in the eye."
Grease Job $1
Brake Adi. 98c
University Daily Kansan
Mufflers and Tallipipes Installed Free 1 qt. oil free with oil & filter change
Tuesday. Feb. 17, 1959
PAGE'S SINCLAIR SERVICE 6th & Vt.
Geology Scholarship Announced May 1
The winners of 1959 Summer Scholarships in Geology, offered by the State Geological Survey, will be announced here May 1 at the annual Kansas Academy of Science meeting.
The recipients of the scholarship will spend six weeks during the summer of 1959 on the State Geological Survey staff, and will receive a salary sufficient to cover living expenses.
There are 67 bridges spanning various bodies of water in New York City.
LAWRENCE
OPTICAL CO.
1025 Mass., VI 3-2966
Vandals Take Radio Antenna
Donald Meeker, Leavenworth second-year law student, reported his car radio antenna was removed sometime between 6 p.m. Saturday and 8 p.m. Monday.
Today's U.S. jet fighter planes require 10 times as much electrical wiring as did the early models.
AUTO PARTS AND TIRES
New or Used
Auto Wrecking
And Junk Co.
East End of 9th St.
VI 3-0956
1. Get your entry blank similar to what is shown below at the Billy Boy Syrup display at your favorite grocers.
2. Write out in 50 words or less "Why I should eat a good breakfast."
3. Send the entry blank with your name and address to:
BILLY BOY, BOX 1000 • 4600 NO. LYNDALE
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA
(Contest closes May 1, 1959, midnight.)