Lee Hadden Writes:
An author, friend of libraries
and a hero in the war against
censorship has died in New York. Charles Rember
challenged the government
censoring of many works of literature that were
considered obscene during
the 1960\’s, including Henry Miller\’s \”Tropic of Cancer,\”
John Cleland\’s
\”Fanny Hill\” and D. H. Lawrence\’s \”Lady Chatterly\’s
Lover\”. Books published
overseas could not be purchased and mailed to
citizens in the US, or
otherwise made available to either adults or children.
Books written in the
US that were considered obscene were open to
confiscation and destruction.
Mr. Rembar was noted for his wit and his ability
to explain rather
simply complex legal arguments, and to strike to the
heart of a legal
question. My favorite quote of his was \”Pornography is
in the groin of the
beholder.\”
Lee Hadden Writes:
An author, friend of libraries
and a hero in the war against
censorship has died in New York. Charles Rember
challenged the government
censoring of many works of literature that were
considered obscene during
the 1960\’s, including Henry Miller\’s \”Tropic of Cancer,\”
John Cleland\’s
\”Fanny Hill\” and D. H. Lawrence\’s \”Lady Chatterly\’s
Lover\”. Books published
overseas could not be purchased and mailed to
citizens in the US, or
otherwise made available to either adults or children.
Books written in the
US that were considered obscene were open to
confiscation and destruction.
Mr. Rembar was noted for his wit and his ability
to explain rather
simply complex legal arguments, and to strike to the
heart of a legal
question. My favorite quote of his was \”Pornography is
in the groin of the
beholder.\”As libraries face challenges to the Internet filtering and
library
holdings today, it is good to reflect on the lives of heroic
people who
helped fight earlier battles, to make society more open
and equal. We need
more courageous people like him.
\”Charles Rembar, 85, a writer, literary agent and lawyer
who was a
champion of First Amendment rights and a forceful
voice of those
seeking to publish books that were once judged
obscene but came to
be regarded as works of art, died Oct. 24 in New York.\”
More information can be found in the Washington Post
obituary at:
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