Turkey: William Burroughs’ Publisher, Translator on Trial for Pornography
The Turkish publisher and translator of William S. Burroughs’ The Soft Machine are facing prison terms of six months to three years for allegedly violating a Turkish law against the publication and writing of pornography. Their trial, which opened in Istanbul on July 6, is the first in Turkey to target the work of a Beat Generation writer.
Interesting that in Turkey, Burroughs is considered by
the Board for the Protection of Minors from Obscene Publications, a Turkish government body, [as] “not compatible with the morals of society and the people’s honor”
but somehow, this filth is released to adoring audiences.
Censorship is a crude, but effective instrument in directing the development of young minds.