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Brennan Center Study: New Voting Restrictions May Affect More than Five Million
New voting laws could make it significantly harder for more than five million eligible voters to cast ballots in 2012, according to the first comprehensive study of the laws’ impact.

Widespread voting cutbacks could have a significant electoral impact in next year’s hard-fought races, the study concludes. Minorities, poor and young voters will likely be most affected.

“This is the most significant cutback in voting rights in decades. More voters may be affected than the margin of victory in two out of the past three presidential elections,” said Michael Waldman, the Brennan Center for Justice’s executive director at The New York University School of Law. “In 2012 we should make it easier for every eligible citizen to vote. Instead, we have made it far harder for too many. Partisans should not try to tilt the electoral playing field in this way.”

Voting Law Changes in 2012 analyzes the 19 laws and two executive actions that passed in fourteen states this year, as well as more than 100 bills that were introduced but did not pass (some may still pass). The study shows, among other things:

The states that have already cut back on voting rights will provide 171 electoral votes in 2012 — 63 percent of the 270 needed to win the presidency.

Of the 12 battleground states identified by an August Los Angeles Times analysis of Gallup polling, five have already cut back on voting rights (and may pass additional restrictive legislation), and two more are currently considering cutbacks.

Among the changes in 2011:

Photo ID laws. At least 34 states introduced legislation that would require voters to show photo identification in order to vote. Photo ID bills were signed into law in seven states: Alabama, Kansas, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin. By contrast, before the 2011 legislative session, only two states had ever imposed strict photo ID requirements. The number of states with laws requiring voters to show government-issued photo identification has quadrupled in 2011. Eleven percent of American citizens do not possess a government-issued photo ID; that is over 21 million citizens.
- Proof of Citizenship laws. At least 12 states introduced legislation that would require proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate, to register or vote. Proof of citizenship laws passed in Alabama, Kansas, and Tennessee. Previously, only two states had passed proof of citizenship laws, and only one had put such a requirement in effect. The number of states with such a requirement has more than doubled.
- Laws making voter registration harder. At least 13 states introduced bills to end highly popular Election Day and same-day voter registration, limit voter registration efforts, and reduce other registration opportunities. Maine passed a law eliminating Election Day registration, and Ohio ended its weeklong period of same-day voter registration. Florida and Texas passed laws restricting voter registration drives, and Florida and Wisconsin passed laws making it more difficult for people who move to stay registered and vote.
October 4, 2011
My Mother’s Cookbook; Recipes from Younger Friends: Cindy’s Cookies, Gaby’s Butter Cookies with Jam, California Cheesecake, and Cynthia’s Lemon Bars

By Margaret Cullison

The bond of womanhood serves us well throughout our lives. My mother valued the companionship of friends her own age, but she also liked learning about the tastes, interests, and ideas of younger women. This worked to her advantage as she grew older and faced the hard reality that the long-time friends of her generation were leaving this earth in far too rapid succession. The friendships she cultivated with younger women helped to soften those repeated losses.

A house feels empty after the children grow up and move away, and my brothers and I had chosen to locate so far afield that frequents visits home weren’t possible. We communicated regularly by letter or telephone. Once, on the phone, I complained to Dad that coping with the turmoil of four sons in my life made me yearn for the day when they’d all be grown up. His immediate answer was, “Well, it’ll damned dull around the house without them.”

To help fill this void, my parents developed friendships with some of the neighborhood children. These little tykes got in the habit of stopping by for brief visits and called my parents by their first names, Anna May and Beanie. They didn’t just troop in uninvited but knocked politely first at the kitchen door. It didn’t take a wizard to notice that they had an ulterior motive beyond reporting on the day’s events and examining Dad’s paperweight collection.

Mom had an oversized brandy snifter that she sometimes used for floating flower arrangements. More frequently, she filled the snifter with her favorite peppermint and butterscotch hard candies. This tantalizing bowl sat on an end table, in the corner of the living room close by both dining room and library. She’d always offered her young visitors a few candies to take with them, small payback for the joy they gave my parents.

When I came home with my sons for summer visits, they found ready-made playmates among these neighborhood kids. Cindy, one of the older girls in the gang of candy seekers, was old enough by then to help with household chores and look after the grandchildren when my parents’ house was again full of family members.

After my father died, Cindy never lost her childhood habit of checking in on my mother. Even after she married, moved away from Harlan, Iowa, and had children of her own, she still made time for a brief visit when back in town to see her own mother. Mom acknowledged Cindy’s loyalty by including a cookie recipe from her in the family cookbook. They are just the kind of cookies that young children love to help make, decorate, and, especially, eat!

Cindy’s Cookies

3 sticks of margarine or butter (1 1/2 cups), softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 small eggs

3 cups flour

1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

dash of salt

Cream margarine and sugar; add eggs, then remaining ingredients.

Mom’s Note: For frosting and cookie cutters.

My Note: The directions for this recipe are sketchy, so I’ve added more detail.

October 4, 2011
A Tale of Two Countries: The Hyde Amendment Turns 35

By Jessica Arons
This article was published by the Center for American Progress online.

The Hyde Amendment, which bans Medicaid coverage of abortion with few exceptions, just turned 35 years old. Not even its sponsor, Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL), could have imagined its unfortunate success. In its three and a half decades, the Hyde Amendment policy has crept into every government-run or government-managed program, including Medicare, the Indian Health Service, the Peace Corps, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, the military’s Tricare program, and federal prisons. And with the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, restrictions on abortion coverage crossed from the public into the private health insurance market as well.

While such restrictions have some effect on all women, poor women and women of color continue to bear the brunt of this cruel policy. Women enrolled in Medicaid—by definition those with the fewest resources — were the first targets of the Hyde Amendment, but two trends have converged to make them even more likely to need an abortion and less likely to be able to afford one.

The United States now has the highest number of people living in poverty since the Census Bureau started tracking the data in 1959. And 14.5 percent of women lived in poverty in 2010, up from 13.9 percent in 2009—the highest poverty rate for women in 17 years.

At the same time, poor women’s rates of unintended pregnancy are far outpacing those of more affluent women. The unintended pregnancy rate for women with incomes under the federal poverty level rose 50 percent from 1994 to 2006, while women with incomes at or above the poverty line saw their unintended pregnancy rate decrease by almost 30 percent. Poor women’s unintended pregnancy rates rose regardless of their education, race and ethnicity, marital status, or age.

And so the chasm between these two Americas continues to grow wider. A poor woman is five times as likely as her higher-income counterpart to have an unintended pregnancy (132 versus 24 per 1,000 women of reproductive age), six times as likely to have a birth resulting from an unintended pregnancy, and five times as likely to have an abortion (52 versus 9 per 1,000 women). Indeed, more than two-thirds (69 percent) of women who have an abortion are economically disadvantaged.

Put another way, abortion is becoming a poor woman’s problem — just as more women are becoming poor. Yet because of the Hyde Amendment, a woman who qualifies for Medicaid due to her low income is denied coverage for abortion care. Instead, she and her family must divert scarce resources to pay for a needed abortion out of pocket.

The Hyde Amendment’s blatant discrimination against poor women violates the fundamental principles of fairness and equality that our country aspires to achieve. At a time when Americans are experiencing record rates of poverty and economic hardship, the Hyde Amendment only compounds an already difficult situation and cuts off aid to those who need it most.

Until the Hyde Amendment is repealed and poor women receive adequate support for all of their reproductive health needs, rich and poor women will continue to live in two different countries with two different sets of rights. This 35th anniversary of Hyde is nothing to celebrate.

Léalo en español

Jessica Arons is Director of the Women’s Health and Rights Program at American Progress.

October 3, 2011
The House That Sam Built: Sam Maloof and Art in the Pomona Valley, 1945–1985

The furniture of mid-century craftsman Sam Maloof (1916–2009) and the art made by 35 members of his circle of friends is explored in a exhibition at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.

Maloof’s work has been given to US presidents, collected by celebrities, and admired by art connoisseurs far and wide. It also has been the subject of major exhibitions across the country, but this is the first to examine closely Maloof’s contribution to the development of art in Southern California. The House That Sam Built: Sam Maloof and Art in the Pomona Valley, 1945–1985 will be presented in the MaryLou and George Boone Gallery through Jan. 30, 2012.

With the home that Maloof and his wife Alfreda created for themselves in the mid-1950s in Alta Loma, Calif., as its central metaphor, “The House That Sam Built” and accompanying catalog of the same title sheds new light on the rich network of influences and exchanges that developed among artists and artisans living near the college town of Claremont in the Pomona Valley. Covering a dynamic period in American art, the exhibition spans the development of Maloof’s work from his earliest explorations of handcrafted furniture in the 1950s to 1985, the year he received the Genius Grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

“The House That Sam Built” gathers together 116 works from private and public collections, showcasing the Maloof pieces in a display integrated with 81 works by his friends and colleagues who worked in other media. Maloof’s circle included painters Karl Benjamin, Phil Dike, and Millard Sheets; sculptors Betty Davenport Ford, Albert Stewart, and John Svenson; ceramists Harrison McIntosh and Otto and Gertrud Natzler; enamelists Jean and Arthur Ames; wood turner Bob Stocksdale; and fiber artist Kay Sekimachi. The installation also will include two rare watercolors that Maloof made early in his career.

Maloof’s dedication to virtuosity in his craft and insistence on maintaining direct relationships with his clients is similar to 18th-century traditions practiced by American cabinetmakers and silversmiths and by the early 20th-century architects Charles and Henry Greene — all represented in The Huntington’s permanent collection galleries.

October 3, 2011
CultureWatch Reviews:

In This Issue: Biographer Gwinn writes in Emily Greene Balch that Balch “had been fundamental to the life and work of Jane Addams and other settlement and peace workers; she had been an influential teacher, revered friend, a respected scholar and visionary thinker.” Dr. Mukherjee, author of Emperor of All Maladies, explains with great clarity just exactly what cancer is, how much we know about it at this point, and possible new directions in which the world of science might proceed to deal with it.

Books:

Emily Greene Balch: The Long Road to Internationalism

By Kristen E. Gwinn

Published by University of Illinois Press; Hardback, c.2010, 217pp.

Reviewed by Jill Norgren

Jane Addams once referred to Emily Greene Balch (1867-1961) as the “goodest person” she had ever known.” Addams was in an excellent position to judge as the two women worked closely on social reform and international peace policies much of their adult lives. In 1931 Addams was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, as the International President of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF).* Fifteen years later Balch was honored with the Peace Prize, also for her work on behalf of peace as a leader of WILPF. They were the second and third women to receive the prize.

Historian Kristen Gwinn writes that Emily Balch “had been fundamental to the life and work of Jane Addams and other settlement and peace workers; she had been an influential teacher, revered friend, a respected scholar and visionary thinker. She left a powerful legacy.” In our current age of wars, we could do well to draw upon Balch’s legacy. Gwinn prepares us to do this with a concise, clearly written, well-researched biography of Balch’s life, a narrative that explores various aspects of her activism and her belief in the power of internationalism. Balch understood global community long before any of us used that term.

Balch’s life began in the post- Civil War Gilded Age and ended in the Cold War. In these ninety-four years she witnessed rapid urbanization, immigration, industrialization, the rise of the Progressive movement meant to transform social and economic ills, two major world wars, and two efforts at new and improved world order through the League of Nations and the United Nations.

Emily Greene Balch grew up in Jamaica Plain, outside of Boston. Her early years provided important influences: “a foundation of family, religion, and education,” according to Gwinn, grounded Balch in her “commitment to a love of learning and a life of service.” Her father was the “constant test and standard” by which she measured her own qualities. She described him as “a combination of Abraham Lincoln, Santa Claus and Jesus.” His rule was “Do unto others ‘better than ye’ would that they should do unto you.” This moral structure was reinforced by membership in the Unitarian Church whose leaders, in the 1870s, preached a social gospel. In particular, Balch came under the influence of minister Charles Fletcher Dole. At the age of ten, Balch answered Dole that she was ready to commit herself “without limitations” to a life in “the service of goodness.” He challenged her to make her life one of service to causes larger than herself, and was a lasting influence on Balch’s moral development and, by extension, her choice of careers and reform activism.

Bryn Mawr College welcomed Balch into its second class. Here she began to form relationships with women outside of her family, and to experience the ideas of professional women like M. Carey Thomas, the first dean of the faculty. She graduated in 1889 with a major in economics, and the college’s first European Fellowship for graduate study. Balch went to Paris where she experienced sex discrimination when trying to matriculate in graduate programs. Through her own grit, and some contact with French faculty, Balch studied the impact of public government programs on the poor and in 1893 published Public Assistance of the Poor in France.

Despite having studied the poor, Balch had yet to spend time in slums or speak at length with workers. To correct this, in the early 1890s, once more living near Boston, she began service to the underprivileged and took up settlement house work. She helped to shape the new Denison House in Boston’s South End. After only three years, however, Balch moved away from social work, surely stinging her colleagues by saying that she had “become impatient with the powerlessness of such work.” Missing intellectual stimulation, she returned to academic study, first at Radcliffe, then the University of Chicago and, finally, the University of Berlin. At each institution she sought to integrate the two strands of her scholarship, economics and sociology.

In 1896 Katharine Coman, head of the economics department at Wellesley College, offered Balch a position as her assistant. For personal reasons, Balch accepted rather than enrolling in a PhD program. She wrote constantly, rose through the academic ranks and, in 1912, became full professor of political economy and political and social science. Balch found considerable satisfaction in teaching but also used her position to encourage her women students to participate in solving social problems. By doing this, Gwinn writes, Balch “fulfilled a central yearning: to live a life of service to her community.”

October 2, 2011
Most Frequently Challenged Authors of the 21st Century
The American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) receives reports from libraries, schools, and the media on attempts to ban books in communities across the country. We compile lists of challenged books in order to inform the public about censorship efforts that affect libraries and schools. The ALA condemns censorship and works to ensure free access to information. For more information on ALA’s efforts to raise awareness of censorship and promote the freedom to read, please explore Banned Books Week.

We do not claim comprehensiveness in recording challenges as research suggests that for each challenge reported there are as many as four or five that go unreported. In addition, OIF has only been collecting data about banned banned books since 1990, so we do not have any lists of frequently challenged books or authors before that date.

How is the list of most challenged books tabulated?

The Office for Intellectual Freedom collects information from two sources: newspapers and reports submitted by individuals, some of whom use the Challenge Reporting Form. All challenges are compiled into a database. Reports of challenges culled from newspapers across the country are compiled in the bimonthly Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom (published by the ALA, $40 per year); those reports are then compiled in the Banned Books Week Resource Guide. Challenges reported to the ALA by individuals are kept confidential. In these cases, ALA will release only the title of the book being challenged, the state and the type of institution (school, public library). The name of the institution and its town will not be disclosed.

Where can you find more information on why a particular book was banned?
- Visit your local public library and ask your librarian.
- Find or purchase the latest Banned Books Week Resource Guide, updated every three years, which may be available at or through your local public library.
- E-mail the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom to ask about a specific book. A staff member will reply with any information the office has on file. Please limit your inquiry to one book. If you would like information on more than one book, please consider purchasing the Banned Books Week Resource Guide.
- See Banned and Challenged Classics.
- Check out the Banned Books Week > Ideas & Resources > Free Downloads page where you can find the yearly Books Challenged or Banned Lists that contain more information on why a book was challenged.
Please feel free to contact the Office for Intellectual Freedom at (800) 545-2433, ext. 4220, or oif@ala.org.

Most frequently challenged authors of the 21st century

Please note that the most frequently challenged authors may not appear in the list of most frequently challenged books. For example, if every one of Judy Blume’s books was challenged–but only once–not one of her books would make the top 10 list, but she herself would make the most challenged author list. Five of Judy Blume’s books are on the list of The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990 to 1999: Forever (7), Blubber (30), Deenie (42), Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret (60), and Tiger Eyes (89).
October 1, 2011
Pre-retirees may underestimate health, financial challenges of retirement
—One in four retirees think life in retirement is worse than it was before they retired, according to a poll by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health. The poll shows stark differences between what pre-retirees think retirement will be like, and what retirees say is actually the case.

“Those of us over 50 and working are optimistic about our future health and health care, but that optimism is not necessarily shared by those who have already retired,” said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD, MBA, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “Many people who have already retired say their health is worse, and they worry about costs of medical treatment and long-term care. Insights from the poll can help policy-makers and others think about how to meet the needs of aging Americans. There are changes we can make to our health care system, finances, and communities that might help ensure that our retirement years will be as fulfilling as we hope.”

The poll focuses on views and experiences related to retirement among people over age 50, including not only people who have retired, but also people who plan to retire (“pre-retirees”) and those who do not plan to do so. It was conducted by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health. Read a summary of the findings and view the complete poll findings. View the charts.

Findings show that a large majority of retirees say life in retirement is the same (44%) or better (29%) than it was during the five years before they retired. Many retirees say their stress is less, their relationships with loved ones are better, their diet is improved, and the amount of time they spend doing favorite activities is increased — yet 25 percent of retirees say life is worse.

“The poll shows that a significant number of people who are near retirement may be underestimating the challenges of retirement,” said Robert Blendon, professor of Health Policy and Political Analysis at the Harvard School of Public Health. “When you compare what people think retirement will be like with what retirees say it actually is like, there are big differences. Pre-retirees may underestimate the degree to which their health and finances may be worse in retirement.”

Listen to Blendon discuss the poll on NPR.

The poll shows only 14 percent of pre-retirees predict that life overall will be worse when they retire, compared to the 25 percent of retirees who say it actually is worse. Only 13 percent of pre-retirees thought their health would be worse, while 39 percent of retirees say it actually is. Less than a quarter of pre-retirees (22%) predict their financial situation will be worse, while a third of retirees (35%) said it actually is.

Findings also show that pre-retirees expect to retire later than those who are already retired and some expect never to fully retire. A sizeable majority of pre-retirees (60%) expect to retire at age 65 or older, while only 26 percent of current retirees polled said they waited to retire at age 65 or older. More than one in 10 pre-retirees (15%) say they never expect to fully retire.

Other key findings from the poll include:

Views on Health in Retirement
- Long, healthy life is expected by both retirees and pre-retirees.
  - About three in 10 pre-retirees and retirees expect to live into their 90s or beyond (29% for pre-retirees; 32% for current retirees).
  - A majority of both groups say their overall health in retirement is or will be better than that of people in their parents’ generation (58% pre-retirees; 53% retirees).
- Both retirees and pre-retirees think they have taken steps to stay healthy.
Most commonly, they have:
- Maintained good relationships with friends and family (95% pre-retirees; 94% retirees)
- Watched their weight (83% pre-retirees; 76% retirees)
- Seen a doctor regularly (80% pre-retirees; 88% retirees)
Pre-retirees are more likely than retirees to say they have changed their diet (68% of pre-retirees; 58% of retirees) and much more likely to say they have increased the amount of physical activity they get (72% of pre-retirees; 44% of retirees).
October 1, 2011
Never Too Old to Talk Tech: Ah Yes, I Remember It Well

by Elaine Soloway

In my previous life — my office desk, computer, bathroom mirror, and other surfaces were covered with Post-It Notes.

Some To-Do’s were vital; i.e. “Send invoice to client”. Others, mundane, as in “Laundry”. And still others, pathetic: “No ice cream!”

Then, the sky opened, sunlight filled the continent, and Steve Jobs ordered, “Thou shalt have Macs.” Suddenly, ancient tree products and writing instruments were old hat, and programs or applications available on Apple computers, iPhones, iPods, and iPads replaced all of those Pitman-penmanship stickies.

Because #1 on my current To Do list reads, “Play nice and share”, I’ve decided to offer you a few apps and web sites that might come to your rescue. They’re likely available on non-Apple devices, but why go there?

1) Awesome Note Lite is a free Apple app that reviewers consider “ten times better” than Notes, Apple‘s default program. The same critic sniffs that the Notes application is very limited, and “Awesome Notes is a worthy solution and replacement for it.”

He (oh, I’m sure it’s a ‘he’) says the biggest difference between Apple’s Notes and Awesome Notes is that the latter allows you to organize your notes into folders. He says a bunch of other stuff, which you can find on the app’s own page in the App store.

2) Evernote is my current favorite in this productivity category. Like the above, it’s free and it’s heralded for “turning the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad into an extension of your brain, helping you remember anything and everything that happens in your life.” You can save notes, ideas, snapshots, and recordings and the material instantly synchronizes across your devices. I like its ability to send yourself an e-mail, which I do to further remind me that I have a reminder. Oy.

3) Remember the Milk is a long-time free app that also travels between Apple products. It has an online service that syncs, and it can send reminders via email, SMS (Short Message Service), and instant messenger.

4) ReQall is free and useful when you don’t have time to write down an idea or reminder. Just tap the ReQall app and speak or type whatever you want to remember. ReQall can send you a reminder via voice, text message, instant message, email, or calendar alert.

5) Despite what the defamer said in Option 1, I still think Apple’s Notes, which lives on the Home page of your iPhone, iPod, or iPad, is a useful list-maker. It automatically syncs to your Mobile Me mail account, and you can manually e-mail your lists (you can make as many as you want) to your other e-mail services. Naturally, it’s free.

Now, with my publication of this post, I can perform a step that is the beauty part of every reminder and list-making service. I can check off, “Write blog on remembering.” Done!

©2011 Elaine Soloway for SeniorWomen.com

Additional Resource: For those interested in upgrading their old computers, these Newegg Promotional Codes just might come in handy.

September 30, 2011
Masterpiece’s Second Season of Downton Abbey

Editor’s Note:

We were in England last Fall and saw the first episode Downton Abbey’s second season; it was everything you’ve come to expect. Hint: Sympathy for the character of Lady Mary Crawley is emphasized and, considering a new character in the life of the estate inheritor Matthew Crawley, that sympathy is well-founded!

The primetime Emmy Award winning program will begin its second season as a Masterpiece Classic in January 8th, 2012.

To refamiliarize yourself with the characters, consult the ‘family tree’ of characters that WGBH’s Masterpiece Theater has created. While you’re waiting for the new season to begin, there’s a series of interview questions of award-winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes:

In 2002, screenwriter Julian Fellowes won an Oscar for his English country house mystery, Gosford Park. A man of many hats, Fellowes is also an actor, film director, novelist, and political activist and he was recently elevated by Queen Elizabeth II to Parliament’s House of Lords, making him Lord Fellowes.

In Gosford Park, Julian Fellowes proved that an English country estate can’t be beat for spellbinding drama played out in the lives of masters and servants. His hit series Downton Abbey also mines this rich vein of passion, nobility, treachery, and looming change — this time in the years just before World War I. Fellowes talked with Masterpiece‘s Richard Maurer in December, 2010.

Select a topic from the list below to see Fellowes’s thoughts, or choose Show All to see the entire interview.

Show All | Hide All

The Inheritance Problem: The Heart of Downton Abbey

American Heiresses Coming to Britain

Julian Fellowes’s Early Years and Influences

The Big Themes of Downton Abbey

Fictional Backstory for the House in Downton Abbey

Etiquette, Downton Abbey and the English

Lord Fellowes and the Parliament’s House of Lords

Season Two of Downton Abbey

September 30, 2011
Banned, Burned, Seized and Censured and The Greenwich Village Bookshop Door

Banned, Burned, Seized, and Censored, an exhibition at the Harry Ransom Center, reveals the rarely seen machinery of censorship in the United States between the two world wars. The exhibition runs from Sept. 6 to Jan. 22, 2012, at the Ransom Center, ahumanities research library and museum at The University of Texas at Austin.

Featuring more than 200 items drawn primarily from the Ransom Center’s collections, the exhibition explores the question: How did hundreds of thousands of books, pictures, plays and magazines come to be banned, burned, seized and censored in less than 30 years?

“Traditionally, censorship exhibitions start with John Milton’s Areopagitica and then provide a list of banned books,” said Ransom Center Assistant Director and Curator for Academic Programs Danielle Sigler. “This approach gives you perspective on which books have been banned over time, but it doesn’t explain why or how censorship took place. This exhibition focuses on how censorship happens in one country, during a particular era.

The New York Society for the Suppression of Vice had a leader who stormed into bookshops, pulled things off the shelves and hauled people to court. The New England Watch and Ward Society in Boston created an informal network of booksellers who quietly removed books from the shelves when they were deemed obscene. At the same time individuals operating as postmasters and customs agents decided for themselves what was obscene.”

The exhibition draws heavily from the Ransom Center’s collection of Morris Ernst, the leading civil liberties attorney who successfully defended James Joyce’s Ulysses when it was put on trial for obscenity in 1933. In 2009, the Ransom Center received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to catalog the Morris Ernst papers. The Ernst papers will be open for research in late 2011. The exhibition features correspondence revealing the mechanics behind censorship, manuscripts edited for obscenity and pirated editions of James Joyce’s Ulysses and D. H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover.

“Because the Center houses collections from writers, agents, publishers and attorneys, we can tell all aspects of this story,” said Sigler. The exhibition is organized by censoring institution, including sections on the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice, the New England Watch and Ward Society, the Book-of-the Month Club, the Post Office Department and the Treasury Department, as well as sections on the 1933 Ulysses trial and writers’ responses to censorship.

Between the two world wars, censors waged war on “objectionable” literature using tactics from extra-legal intimidation to federal prosecution. Larger-than-life personalities battled publicly over obscenity, “clean books” and freedom of expression while writers, agents and publishers attempted to navigate the increasingly complex world of American censorship.

“The exhibition is limited to a particular time period, so the visitor can begin to get a sense of the materials that reformers deemed objectionable at that specific moment in American history,” said Sigler. “During the interwar years, more often than not, the objection boiled down to sex.

“One of the goals of the exhibition is to show that censorship is far more complicated than one might think.

In the United States in this particular period, it was not a matter of a monolithic body censoring books. The process is more nuanced. As you look at these materials, you begin to understand why reformers argued for censorship, why authors battled against it and even why some publishers found censorship a boon for sales.”

September 27, 2011