The Seized Books! project at the University of London focuses on 140 titles seized in a 1984 raid on Gay’s the Word bookshop in Bloomsbury by HM Customs, who deemed them “indecent or obscene”. They confiscated thousands of pounds worth of stock in the infamous 1984 ‘Operation Tiger’ raids. Through the confiscated titles and the subsequent legal battle to defend them, ‘Seized Books!’, which commemorates the 40th anniversary of the raids, opens up vital conversations about queer literature, reading cultures and censorship over the decades. The ‘Operation Tiger’ raids ignited a fierce legal battle and a nationwide defence campaign that united publishers, bookshops, writers and activists in a fight against state censorship. Following a two-year legal battle all charges against the defendants were dropped.
The 40th anniversary exhibition details
An online exhibition launches on 10 April 2024. A digital screen and window display will be available at Gay’s the Word from 11-18 April, and selected books will be on display at Senate House Library throughout April.
Two workshops in 2023 used the Haud Nominandum collection at Senate House Library – the personal library of Gay’s the Word director Jonathan Cutbill – to take a closer look at copies of these seized books and to consider some of the many different ways they might be read today. One workshop is open to the public, while the other is primarily intended for students, researchers and collections professionals.
Event 1:How to Read a Censored Book Saturday, 11 November 2023 1:30-5:30 PM Senate House Library, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU Register here
‘How to Read a Censored Book’ invites you to take a closer look at a selection of the books seized in the raid on Gay’s the Word and to consider some of the many different ways they might be read today. You will get to handle copies of the titles seized in the raids, hear about the experience of reading these books and share your own history of reading, and explore some 21st century ways of exploring queer literature. This event is open to the public and aimed at a more general audience, including those without previous experience engaging with special collections material. Find out more.
Event 2:How to Read a Censored Book (From a Distance): Applying Digital Methods to the Cutbill Collection Wednesday 15 November 2023 1:30 – 5:30 PM Senate House, University of London Register here
This workshop aims to introduce methods for digital text analysis and initiate a critical discussion at the intersection of sexuality, language technology, and artificial intelligence. We will begin with a gentle introduction to digital text analysis. In this hands-on session, we focus on the digitized Cutbill collection and demonstrate how digital tools have opened up new ways of exploring texts that go beyond the traditional linear process of reading from the first page to the last. Specifically, we will delve into text collections of various scales and showcase how transitioning between ‘close’ and ‘distant’ reading can offer new forms of interpretation.
At the end of the workshop, we will engage in a collective experiment that delves into the interplay between language technology, artificial intelligence, and sexuality. We will explore questions such as: How does sexuality manifest in current generative models like ChatGPT? To what extent do these technologies introduce new forms of censorship or produce harmful language? What norms and concepts of indecency are imposed by these technologies? Can we draw parallels between the Customs raid and contemporary technologies? Read more here.
The University of London Press is supported by the School of Advanced Study, University of London.
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