The Little Review (magazine)
The Little Review was a pioneering literary magazine founded by Margaret Anderson in Chicago in March 1914. It gained prominence in the literary world, especially during its collaboration with co-editor Jane Heap and notable figures like Ezra Pound, who contributed to its growth and appeal. The magazine is best known for publishing groundbreaking works, including James Joyce's "Ulysses," which appeared in serialized form from 1918 to 1920. However, its progressive content led to significant legal challenges, particularly concerning censorship and obscenity laws, such as the Comstock Act of 1873.
The magazine's troubles began with the publication of works that were deemed indecent, leading to the New York post office halting delivery of issues containing explicit material. The situation escalated with the release of particular episodes from "Ulysses," resulting in multiple bans and the confiscation of subscriptions by vice officers. In 1921, Anderson and Heap were ultimately found guilty of violating the Comstock Act, which led to a fine and a prohibition on continuing the publication of Joyce's work. Despite these challenges, The Little Review played a vital role in the modernist literary movement and remains a significant part of literary history.
The Little Review (magazine)
Type of work: Magazine
Published: 1914-1925
Founder: Margaret Anderson (1893?-1973)
Subject matter: Literary reviews and essays
Significance: U.S. postal authorities suppressed five numbers of this journal, and a state court fined its editors for publishing obscene material
Margaret Anderson, former literary editor of The Dial, founded The Little Review in Chicago in March, 1914. In the fall of 1916 Jane Heap became Anderson’s coeditor; Ezra Pound was enlisted as foreign correspondent, subscription salesman, and shadow editor, eliciting contributions from his friends James Joyce and Wyndham Lewis. Pound’s tenure at the magazine, from 1917-1921, coincided both with its golden age and with its problems of censorship.
The magazine first ran into difficulties when it published Lewis’ graphic portrait of trench warfare: “Cantleman’s Spring-Mate” (October, 1917). The New York post office stopped delivery of the issue, declaring it in violation of the Comstock Act of 1873. The magazine next encountered trouble during the publication of Joyce’s Ulysses, which appeared in twenty-three monthly installments from March, 1918, to December, 1920. The novel’s “Lestrygonians” episode (January, 1919) featured the hero Leopold Bloom’s scatological ruminations on a lunchtime crowd. The New York post office banned the mailing of any further copies of the issue—a tactic repeated, on similar charges of indecency, with the publication of the “Scylla and Charybis” (May, 1919) and the “Cyclops” (January, 1920) episodes. The matter came to a head with the “Nausicaa” episode (July-August, 1920), in which Bloom is sexually aroused by a teenage girl. New York City vice officers removed the issue from the Washington Square Bookstore, and all subscriptions were confiscated by the post office. In February, 1921, despite a vigorous defense by John Quinn, a special sessions court found Anderson and Heap guilty of violating the Comstock Act and fined each fifty dollars; in addition, The Little Review was banned from publishing any further installments of Ulysses.