#184: Banned Books
English Learning for Curious Minds
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The Politics of Banned Books
Stalinist USSR was also a dangerous place for writers. Many fled, they escaped, and many who remained lost their lives. Boris Pasternak stayed and managed to navigate this dangerous environment during Stalin's lifetime. His masterpiece Dr Chevago was rejected by the state authorities in 1956. It was not taken off the banned list in the USSR until 1988. Governing powers generally do not like citizens to read books which have explicit sexual content. Two of the most famous examples are Ulysses by James Joyce and one called Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence. More recently governments and school governing boards in the USA especially have banned books which are seen as promoting homosexuality
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