1554

320

Decision of the Indecent Publications Tribunal

IN the matter of the Indecent Publications Act 1963, and in the matter of an application by the Comptroller of Customs for a decision in respect of the book The Goddess Game by Hugh Barron, published by New English Library, London.
There was no appearance of the applicant nor of the publisher's representative in New Zealand. Accordingly no submissions were made.

DECISION OF THE TRIBUNAL
THIS novel tells the intimate stories of four girls who flatted together in Hollywood at one stage of their struggle for recognition in the world of cinema. The background of this whole world of big show business, Oscar hunting, exploitation, drugs, kicks, wealth, and beauty is real enough; the novel has plot and structure; the characters are well-defined; the causes and effects of ruthless ambition are recounted with a certain amount of subtlety. Those incidents which are in themselves obscene are inherent in the story and setting, and while nothing is spared in the telling, their inclusion can be justified. There is, however, sufficient perversion and crudity to suggest restriction to adults.
The Tribunal classifies this book as indecent in the hands of persons under the age of 18 years.
R. S. V. SIMPSON, Chairman.
30 July 1971.

321

Decision of the Indecent Publications Tribunal

IN the matter of the Indecent Publications Act 1963, and in the matter of an application by the Comptroller of Customs for a decision in respect of the book Some Like it Dark by Kipp Washington, published by Holloway House, California.
There was no appearance of the applicant. Mr P. J. Downey, solicitor, appeared on behalf of the distributors in New Zealand and made submissions.

DECISION OF THE TRIBUNAL
THIS book is described as the intimate autobiography of a Negro call girl. The editor of her story says she wrote it as therapy, to find out the truth of why she did what she did. It sheds very little light on her problem or the racial-sexual situation; it may have some entertainment value for some adults but its obsessional treatment of sex justifies some restriction.
The Tribunal classifies this book as indecent in the hands of persons under the age of 18 years.
R. S. V. SIMPSON, Chairman.
30 July 1971.

322

Decision of the Indecent Publications Tribunal

IN the matter of the Indecent Publications Act 1963, and in the matter of an application by the Comptroller of Customs for a decision in respect of the book Sexual Deviation by Roger Farley Gray, published by Riverhaven Ltd., London.
There was no appearance of the applicant. Mr P. J. Downey, solicitor, appeared on behalf of the distributors in New Zealand and made submissions.

DECISION OF THE TRIBUNAL
THE text of this book is not as blatantly directed at exploiting morbid interest in sexual deviation as have been several treatments of similar material which the Tribunal has rejected as indecent. There is, however, an appeal to such interest in the description of the contents given on the cover, and the book's informative purpose and value are sufficiently compromised by this to require that the book be not available to the public without appropriate restraint on its circulation and display.
The Tribunal classifies this book as indecent in the hands of persons under the age of 18 years.
R. S. V. SIMPSON, Chairman.
30 July 1971.

No. 58

323–324

Decision of the Indecent Publications Tribunal

IN the matter of the Indecent Publications Act 1963, and in the matter of an application by the Comptroller of Customs for decisions in respect of the books I am Curious (Thirty) and Threesome by Jill Emerson, published by Berkley Publishing Corporation, New York.
There was no appearance of the applicant. Mr P. J. Downey, solicitor, appeared on behalf of the distributors in New Zealand and made submissions.

DECISION OF THE TRIBUNAL
THESE two novels by Jill Emerson depict the passage of the main characters in each from the settled pattern of their lives into a mounting preoccupation with sexual experiment and adventure. Each novel has some attempt at literary effect, the first being in the form of a diary, the second varying the point of view in successive first person accounts from the threesome.
The dominant effect of each book, however, is not of any subtlety or insight in the portrayal of human experience but of salacious crudeness. To present sex as an uncontrollable appetite to be followed wherever it leads, and to savour the resulting experiences in such revolting detail, is to deal with sex in a manner injurious to the public good.
The Tribunal classifies both books as indecent.
R. S. V. SIMPSON, Chairman.
30 July 1971.

325

Decision of the Indecent Publications Tribunal

IN the matter of the Indecent Publications Act 1963, and in the matter of an application by the Comptroller of Customs for a decision in respect of the book Promiscuous Pauline, translation by R. J. B. Krauss, published by Riverhaven Ltd., London.
There was no appearance of the applicant. Mr P. J. Downey, solicitor, appeared on behalf of the distributors in New Zealand and made submissions.

DECISION OF THE TRIBUNAL
DISTRIBUTED by Luxor Press, London, in 1971, this has the subtitle Memoirs of a German Opera Singer, and the introduction states that it is a translation of a German original published about a century ago, and gives an actual attribution to a named singer, although this is denied by standard musical reference works.
As one might expect from this publishing house, the memoirs are of the extra-curricular rather than the musical activities of the authoress. Indeed, the emphasis is almost exclusively sexual and the tone gradually degenerates through the book into acceptance of various forms of sadistic perversion. There is no redeeming feature and irrespective of the claims made in the introduction, there appears to be little honest purpose in this book.
The Tribunal classifies this book as indecent.
R. S. V. SIMPSON, Chairman.
30 July 1971.

326

Decision of the Indecent Publications Tribunal

IN the matter of the Indecent Publications Act 1963, and in the matter of an application by the Comptroller of Customs for a decision in respect of the book Laying the Ghost by Jay Martin, published by Berkley Publishing Corporation, New York.
There was no appearance of the applicant nor of the publisher's representative in New Zealand. Accordingly no submissions were made.

DECISION OF THE TRIBUNAL
PUBLISHED in 1970 by the Berkley Publishing Corporation, New York, this paperback is a ghost story with a difference. It has no pretensions to literary merit, and a considerable emphasis on ghostly sexual encounters of unusual nature. However, it is told with a light comic touch, and many will