SOURCE: Hutchison, E. R. “The Trials and Tribulations of Cancer—.” In Tropic of Cancer, pp. 33-50. New York: Grove Press, 1968.

In the following essay, Hutchison discusses the publishing history of Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller, in the context of the American legal system's censorship of “obscene” materials against the increasing popularity of publications such as Playboy magazine and changing attitudes about sex. The author argues that the first American publication of Miller's novel in 1961, along with the ensuing trial about its obscenity, was carefully planned by Barney Rosset of Grove Press, who fiercely opposed censorship.

What happened to Tropic of Cancer had broader significance, of course, than the impact upon Grove Press of Henry Miller. With the American publication of Cancer, a new and critical phase in the continuing struggle over freedom of expression in literature began.

From the very beginning, in Paris in the 1930's, Cancer...