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trundle November 13 2008, 20:16:51 UTC
And it has to be books? No interest in the PMRC or something similar?

I know there were Senate Hearings on comic books in the 1950s -- I couldn't tell you the politicians involved, but if you google Fredric Wertham that will probably get you started. They never banned anything (like most other forms, they developed a private industry regulatory board), but I wouldn't be surprised if some politicians were pushing for that.

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taliesinsmuse November 13 2008, 20:39:14 UTC
Unfortunately no PMRC. We're focusing on literary works, specifically. I know songs can be considered literature these days, but I'm talking ALA banned books. Comics, I could include - do you think the CBLDF would have info on that?

Thanks!

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knut_hamson November 13 2008, 20:47:47 UTC
Define "literary works."

Does something like Madonna's Sex fit the bill? How about Margaret Sanger's Family Limitation? When you say "literature," do you mean "print materials" as opposed to music?

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technocracygirl November 14 2008, 03:16:10 UTC
Or read The Ten-Cent Plague. It's not academic, but is new, and is a history of comic books, which very definitely touches on the bannings in the fifties.

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tempter November 14 2008, 06:42:25 UTC
Is that any good? I saw a copy in the store the other day and was definitely intrigued, but I have enough on my plate right now that I shouldn't splurge on pleasure reading. I thought it might be a nice treat over the holidays, though.

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sensaes November 14 2008, 11:01:51 UTC
Martin Barker's A Haunt of Fears (http://www.amazon.com/Haunt-Fears-Strange-History-Campaign/dp/0878055932) is a classic on the British end of that phenomenon. (His book on "video nasties" in the '80s is also worth a look.)

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technocracygirl November 14 2008, 16:17:25 UTC
I've only heard the author giving book talks on podcasts, not read the book itself. However, it seems well-researched, very grounded in the history of the times discussed, and interesting. YMMV.

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