Banned Books

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 702, 29 June 1929, Page 8

Banned Books

What New Zealand Must Not Read

CONTRARY to popular impression created recently, censorship exercises only a small influence in regulating the

literary taste of New Zealanders. There exists a general ban upon certain works, however, and in addition, the library authorities have discriminating control over the choice of hooks for their own readers.

In a great many instances the exclusion of a book from library circulation merely stimulates public curiosity in its contents and creates an unusually heavy demand for copies at the book stores. It cannot be determined just how far this widespread study of the banned book offsets the good intentions of the library committee in keeping it from the home. Whatever be the merits of these comparatively remote considerations, the superficial effect is apparent in the feverish public demand in Auckland for the vividly realistic war novel, now popularly known as “All Quiet . . for which thousands of orders have been placed by retailers since it was excluded from the public library. Thousands of copies for Auckland! Perhaps before they arrive much of the enthusiasm for the novel will have passed. But while the popularity exists, sales are phenomenally high. Dunedin has now applied the ban and the book is widely sought. And so it is with a great many books -which, possess a reputation for an unsually realistic twist. There is a list of books banned from New Zealand. Its contents, remarkably enough, are kept a closely guarded secret, and anyone who seeks from the authorities or from book houses information about their titles is informed, almost in a whisper, that such information is confidential—purely confidential. BANNED LIST A SECRET The book collector, then, starts out without knowledge of what books are banned and what are given free entry to the Dominion. He knows there is a board of three censors at Wellington which deals with complaints made to the police about certain volumes, and which on rare occasions opens a box containing a book whose title suggests something not in the interests of public morals. Generally speaking, however, the ban operates very ineffectively, and book lovers affirm that is it in fact little needed. Advanced works upon sex problems are represented largely among the banned books, and since the war a generous sprinkling of editions inciting revolution hare been added. One New Zealand novel, “The Butcher Shop,” written by a Wellington woman, is still prohibited, depicting as it does in an exaggerated way a sordid side of station life, and

is in no manner an advertisement to the Dominion.

This and other books have from time to time agitated Parliament, where members have constantly asked for information concerning the list of prohibited works, and where it was clearly pointed out that almost any banned book may be secured privately through the overseas mail. This is confirmed by an enthusiastic book collector in Auckland, who says that in ordinary circumstances the authorities never question small parcels of books, which not unusually contain one which is on the list of those barred from entry to the Dominion. He claims, and with a certain degree of justification, that a ban is not altogether an influence for good, because it frequently creates in a certain tj-pe of mind a desire to see the book, not for its aesthetic merits, but ou account of its undesirable qualities. Every book, he contends, should stand or fall upon its merits as a best —or indifferent—seller on the open market. In New Zealand, it is discovered, the ban is a comparatively insubstantial thing, and booksellers assert that they are never unduly concerned by its provisions. “SEXY” BOOKS

Much of course remains in the hands of the book vendors themselves and of the library authorities in the various cities and towns, who refuse on the one hand to undertake the responsibility of stocking the volume, and exercise precautions on the other hand to see that it is not circulated among general readers.

This was poignantly illustrated a few years ago when the well-known “Seventy Times Seven” was withdrawn from sale at the representation of the authorities of certain churches. For some time a series of books written by a noted woman doctor upon problems of sex were prohibited by the New Zealand ..authorities, but later the ban was lifted. Bad books, in the main, cannot be said to constitute a social problem of any magnitude for the Dominion. The sensation of curiosity for the “unusual'’ novel triumphs momentarilv; but it can hardly be claimed with statistical justification or even reasonable proof that crime—either juvenile or adult—is attributable directly to the influence of questionable literature.