The Chicago Review, Big Table and Naked Lunch

[jporter]

On Sep 18, 2005, at 5:05 PM, jbor at bigpond.com wrote:

> "At the same time, there had been a shakeup at the _Chicago Review_, 
> which resulted in the Beat-oriented _Big Table_ magazine. 'What 
> happened at Chicago' became shorthand for some unimaginable subversive 
> threat. [...]" (Pynchon, speaking of some of his formative influences 
> in the _Slow Learner_ 'Intro', p. 7.)
>
> http://www.bigmagic.com/pages/blackj/column39c.html
>
> best
>
>

This seems to be the most interesting and ironic aspect of the above 
cited
article:

"But in September 1960 Judge Julius Hoffman, in a literate and
well-considered opinion, declared that no part of Big Table 1
  was obscene and ordered the Post Office Department to
release all the copies it held. During the hearing and appeal
Big Table continued to publish and was mailed openly, without
interference from postal authorities. A few weeks after Judge
Hoffman's decision, Big Table 5 was published. It was to be the
final issue of the magazine.."

Judge Julie apparently decided that free speech had its limits when he
had Black Panther, and COINTEL target,  Bobby Seale  bound and gagged
in the public court trial of the Chicago Eight, nine years later.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Seale

Nowadays, of course, there would be no need for such judicial
awkwardness, given the label of  "enemy combatant" and the ensuing
suspension of all civil liberties and due process. Mr. Seale would
simply be disappeared never to be heard from again, or, sent via
"extraordinary rendition" to some faraway venue for "processing."

jody