Lessons to Be Learned From Moscow Book Fair

I am an inmate in the federal prison camp at Boron. Robert Gillette’s report (Sept. 18) on the Fifth Moscow International Book Fair was a sobering and thought-provoking account of the harm that can come from censorship and restriction of the public’s access to certain books.

It is almost frightening to realize that if it were possible to transport even a small public library from the United States to Moscow, it would draw tens of thousands of people wanting to find out for themselves what the censors have forbidden them to know.

Incarceration deprives me of certain rights and benefits that I previously took for granted, and this brings into sharp focus the value of those that I retain. Even here, the San Bernardino County bookmobile visits every week, and we are permitted to order and read books without restriction or screening. Thus, I have been able to share the thoughts and ideas of brilliant men and women, travel to every continent, learn the history of this and other nations, and keep abreast of current events and topics, without freedom of travel or direct contact with the society. I believe that the imposition of intellectual limitations through censorship and control of my access to reading materials would be far more punitive than the physical incarceration I now endure.

There are those who advocate restricting access to some books in our school and public libraries. They believe that the ideas or the language in which the ideas are presented are objectionable. From my perspective, I feel that the censorship in itself poses a far greater danger to our society than any harm that may come from reading “objectionable” books.

We would be foolish to take too lightly the lessons to be learned from the Moscow Book Fair.

SAMUEL E. COX

Boron