Henry Miller
Date: 1938
Region: North America
Subject: Explicit Sexuality
Medium: Literature
Artist: Henry Miller (1891 - 1980)
Confronting Bodies: US government and British government
Dates of Action: 1934 - 1964
Location: USA
Description of Artwork: March 9 - In 1938, the U.S. Government banned Henry Millers novel Tropic of Cancer, saying it dealt too explicitly with his sexual adventures and challenged models of sexual morality. To further drive the point home, the government went on to ban all of Millers works from entering the United States. In 1961, the ban was lifted, but his work continued to be labeled obscene by the Citizens for Decent Literature. Tropic of Cancer (1934) along with the follow-up Tropic of Capricorn (1939) are the most controversial of Henry Miller's works due to their sexually explicit content. The books are an autobiographical account of a poor expatriate living in France during the early 1930s. With no real narrative plot, the novels follow the everyday life of the narrator. What make both works so controversial are the numerous sexual encounters that are depicted with shocking and unprecedented detail and frankness.
The Incident: In 1938, the U.S. Government banned Henry Millers novel Tropic of Cancer, saying it dealt too explicitly with his sexual adventures and challenged models of sexual morality. To further drive the point home, the government went on to ban all of Millers works from entering the United States.
Results of Incident: In 1961 the US ban on Henry Miller's novels was finally lifted, but the controversy surrounding his books (in particular Tropic of Cancer) continued. Tropic of Cancer was still labeled as "obscene" by the US government and nationwide there were attempts to stop the sale of Miller's novel. In the fall of 1961, police officials in the Chicago area systematically intimidated bookstores who sold the Tropic of Cancer, making several arrests. The book's publisher, Grove Press, along with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit arguing it is illegal for officials to interfere with the sale of the novel. During the first year of publication Grove Press spent more than $100,000 fighting 60 cases nationwide. It was not until 1964 that the US Supreme Court finally declared Tropic of Cancer not to be obscene and its sale protected by the US constitution.
Source: Censorship: A World Encyclopedia. Ed. Derek Jones. Chicago; London: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2001.