Ulysses (novel)
Date: 1918, 1930
Region: North America
Subject: Explicit Sexuality
Medium: Literature
Artist: James Joyce
Confronting Bodies: U.S. Government
Dates of Action: 1918, 1930
Location: United States
Description of Artwork: Ulysses is an 18 chapter book in which each chapter represents about one hour in the course of a day and reflects a chapter in the Odyssey. The story follows an ordinary day in Dublin and touches upon obscene points such as urination and masturbation. Due to each part being written in a different style and having different themes associated with it, the story seems very disjointed. This is why court cases against the book were limited to certain chapters, making it difficult for lawyers to defend the obscenities by linking them to the story as a whole.
The Incident: In 1918 chapters published in the Little Review, are burned by the U.S. Post Office. In 1930, while en route to a potential American publisher, the U.S. Post Office once again seizes copies of the novel.
Results of Incident: In 1933, Federal Judge John Woolsey lifts the ban on Ulysses.
Source: National Association of Artists Organizations
