"Banned in Boston (and Beyond)" Pop-up Exhibition (Houghton)

Detail, Desiderius Erasmus (–1536). De dvplici copia verborvm ac rervm: commentarii dvo, 1548. NC5.Erl53D.

Date and Time

October 9, 2025
12:00PM - 03:00PM EDT

Location

Hofer Classroom, Houghton Library, Harvard Yard

For as long as there have been books, there have been those who found their content objectionable, and have sought to prevent them from reaching readers. This pop-up exhibition, held during the American Library Association’s Banned Books Week, will show famous and infamous examples of books censored for their religious, political, scientific, and sexual content. They range from Copernicus’s De Revolutionibus, with its heretical Sun-centered universe, to the work of the Watch and Ward Society, the group that spawned the phrase “Banned in Boston,” to more contemporary works like The Satanic Verses and Madonna’s Sex.

Event organizer: John Overholt (Houghton Library)

More Information

Image credit: Detail, Desiderius Erasmus (–1536). De dvplici copia verborvm ac rervm: commentarii dvo, 1548. NC5.Erl53D.