The title of that book struck me while I was looking through one of my family's many bookcases while I was looking for our copy of All the Kings Men. It was completely out of place, and not even remotely close to the other language books, so naturally I did what any sensible person would do, I opened it. And let me tell you that I am glad I did, because imagine my surprise when I found that the book was actually a copy of Tropic of Capricorn. Albeit a hidden one.
"Why would a false book cover be on this book?" I asked myself, and it was at that moment that I began to do a tiny bit of research, both on the internet, and within my family.
As it turns out, an older (and distant) cousin of mine spent a good deal of time in Paris during his youth and at that time this book was banned in the United States for "obscenity". 7 years after he returned with it and it's false bindings, the United States Supreme Court overruled the state courts which had previously barred it's publication in this country.
Why am I writing about a case of long-ago censorship and a small token level of defiance that preceeded it? The answer to that is simple; although I probably wouldn't place Tropic of Capricorn in a high school library, the same mindset that lead to the barring of it's publication in this country is the same mindset that leads religious fundamentalists in their dishonest attempts to remove books from High School libraries.
And even worse, the mindset behind that censorship leads to self-censorship by High Schools when they are formulating their English curriculum and thus deprives High School students of the opportunity to receive a quality education. The American Library Association has an event called Banned Books Week, and although this diary comes nearly 8 months before it, I urge everyone here to go over and check out the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books from 1990 to 2000. Then check to see how many you've read.
Because that's where the war to learn is waged today. Still in the Supreme Court, and still against censorship, but now under the surface -- save for the few highly publicized incidences surrounding popular series'. We might not need covers calling our books A Grammar of the Eskimo Language: Volume 1 anymore, but we still need to fight to preserve that freedom. So now, in this time between annual banned book weeks, take some time to read one.