New-York tribune., 1922-05-07

ID is not frequently a subject of
q agitation in France. Books
are published here which are,
indeed, fatty pornographc A good
many of them are printed in English
for tho delectation Of the unilngual
Anglo-SaXon visitor; occasionally, an
cnterprising American bookseller
walks off with an armful They arc
sold under the arcades Of the Rue de
CastigIionc and the Rue de Rivol. in
convenient proximity to the Ritz, the
Mourice, and other great hotels. They
fetch prices more indecent than their
contents. There exists, also, French
"hterature' Of this kind, read almost
exclusively by high school boys and
elderly collectors of erotjca. 1t must
be said, however, that these are never
so vicious, SO revolving, as those pub
iishcd in English.
Another type is the book which is
vulgar, obscene or blasphemous, but
here in France at any rate a sensible
distinction is made. These books are
not necessarily pornographic. They
are placed upon an index, but by the
church, or the individual, rather than
by the state. People who find certain
| books Gas they find newspapers, or
theaters) too "strong" simply do not
read them, but they do not form them
selves into crazy bands to burn these
books on the Place de la Bastilc.
society might conceivably exist in
france for the suppression of vice, but
once earnestly in action it would be
howlcd out Of existence. You re-
member, perhaps, the reception given
by the French press to the news of the
antiwhite slave crusade of the League
Of Nations and its dispatch to Con-
stantinoplo of an "inspector Of
harems." No; in France as elsewhere
you may publish what you will if Cd
you ask no ones permission, (2) you
make no noise about it, and CO YOU
publish it to the proper people, in
manner betting its publication.
Paris Receives "Ulysses"
WORKS of art (to employ a loose
classification enter naturally
into the category of books objection
able to certain people. A classic ex-
ample is the red cloth series of
Observation-Disclosures, Margaret Of
Navarro, Rabelais, "Mademoiselle Maui
PIN" the "Droll Tales"-so curiously
exempt from the interference of Amer
lean oficialdom. The judiciary ad-
ventures of Madame Bovary," "Les
Fleurs du NAL "The 'Genius.' 3"
"Jurgen" and "Ulysses" are familiar
to every one Less familiar. perhaps,
are the vcissitudes of Vizetelly,
prosecuted in England for the publica-
ton of Zola's highly romantic novels
The publication in Paris by Shakes
peare & Co. Of "Ulysses" Is an
excellent instance of how these things
should be done. 1t received sufficient
publicity to sell limited edition in
advance, and its subcribcrs were
chosen with enough discretion to in
sure every one against offense.
"ulyssees" is distinctly not book for
the casual reader looking for diver
sion. 1t is profane; it is obscene; it
is blasphemous; it is above all su-
perbly, beautifully lyrical, but it is
slightly more difficult reading than
theater poster
The reader" says Valery Larbaud
who opens ulysses without having
the odyssey we'll in mind finds him.
self at sea- | am supposing, naturally,
cultured reader, one capable of read
ing with understanding Rabelais, Mon
taigne or Descartes, for an uncultured
reader would abandon ulysses after
three pages Elsewhere in his article
on Joyce Gin the "Nouvelle Revue Fran
caise," April, 1929, Larbaud says, at
is in fact incredible that people suf-
fclently cultured to enjoy an author
as difficult as he is should mistake
pornography for literary work"
French Censor "Winesburg'
XALERY LARBAUD is very little
known in America; he is one of
the few French novclists who in the
ten or fifteen years past have written
the most enduring work of their gen
Grafton. His familiarity with Eng
lish literature, classical and modern. is
one which native critics may envy, and
his admiration for Samuel Butler has
already resulted in three exceptionally
intelligent and apt translations.
The article on Joyce is very well
come printing of his lecture, delivered
last winter in Adrienne Monner's
"Maison des Ams des Livres" The
audience which crowded into the small
shop was handpicked and numbered
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