1950s Quote by Michael Dirda
“When I was a boy in the late 1950s, the public library refused to stock books by Edgar Rice Burroughs. They were regarded as vulgar, ill-written potboilers.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: “The Library’s Gatekeepers”, 2015
The author recounts a 1950s library’s refusal to stock Edgar Rice Burroughs, illustrating cultural gatekeeping and the marginalization of genre fiction.
In simple terms: Libraries once rejected popular sci‑fi as lowbrow.
Key Takeaway
Challenge literary bias.
Themes
censorship
genre bias
literary history
cultural gatekeeping
freedom of reading
Mood
thoughtful
critical
Type
historical
literary
When to use this quote
- book clubs
- library reform
- educational curricula
- media criticism
Key Concepts
genre fiction
library policy
cultural elitism
author advocacy
Questions to Reflect On
- How do modern libraries handle genre diversity?
- What impact does gatekeeping have on cultural memory?
A Different Perspective
The anecdote may overlook progressive changes since then.
![“I really think [William] Burroughs was onto something here, when he said, "Dreams are a biologic necessity and your lifeline into space."” quote by Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d4b/quentin-s-crisp-4149_burroughs_i-really-think-william-burroughs-was-ont_464032.jpg)
![“Nearly all the writing of our time is likely to disappear in a hundred years. Certainly most readers - and nearly all critics - feel that [Kurt] Vonnegut started to repeat himself, to grow increasingly self-indulgent and meandering, and to sometimes just blather in his later work. But his books up…” quote by Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ed7/michael-dirda-3414_1960s_nearly-all-the-writing-of-our-time-is-li_13506.jpg)
