--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I was a boy in the late 1950s, the…" description: "\"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 potboi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f27/michael-dirda-3414_1950s_when-i-was-a-boy-in-the-late-1950s-the-p_2514616.jpg" --- # When I was a boy in the late 1950s, the public library… ![“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.” quote by Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f27/michael-dirda-3414_1950s_when-i-was-a-boy-in-the-late-1950s-the-p_2514616.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f27/michael-dirda-3414_1950s_when-i-was-a-boy-in-the-late-1950s-the-p_2514616.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f27/michael-dirda-3414_1950s_when-i-was-a-boy-in-the-late-1950s-the-p_2514616.jpg) > “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.” [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. 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. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [Public library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-library/) [Vulgar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vulgar/) ## Related quotes > [In 1911, Edgar Rice Burroughs, having failed at everything else, decided to write a novel. He was then in his mid-thirties, married with two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/in-1911-edgar-rice-burroughs-having-failed-at-everything-else-decided/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Edgar Rice Burroughs taught me pace and gave me a sense of action and adventure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-r-lansdale/edgar-rice-burroughs-taught-me-pace-and-gave-me-a-sense-of-action-and/) [Joe R. Lansdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-r-lansdale/) > [I go back to read 'Tarzan' books every now and again or 'John Carter,' and you realize Edgar Rice Burroughs is not a great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-black/i-go-back-to-read-tarzan-books-every-now-and-again-or-john-carter-and/) [Shane Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-black/) > [What we have here is a rousing boy's adventure story, adapted from stories that Edgar Rice Burroughs cranked out for early pulp magazines. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/what-we-have-here-is-a-rousing-boy-s-adventure-story-adapted-from/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [“The library refused many downloads, of course, but I succeeded with two Optimists translated from the Late English, Orwell and Huxley;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/the-library-refused-many-downloads-of-course-but-i-succeeded-with-two/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [Science fiction is a dialogue, a tennis match, in which the Idea is volleyed from one side of the net to the other. Ridiculous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/science-fiction-is-a-dialogue-a-tennis-match-in-which-the-idea-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What's with the serum?" I don't know, but it sounds ominous. We better put a telepathic direction finder on Benway. The man's not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/what-s-with-the-serum-i-don-t-know-but-it-sounds-ominous-we-better/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [Cats of all kinds weave in and out of the text; Burroughs has clearly taken to them in a big way in his old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/cats-of-all-kinds-weave-in-and-out-of-the-text-burroughs-has-clearly/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [ I really think \[William\] Burroughs was onto something here, when he said, "Dreams are a biologic necessity and your lifeline into space." ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/i-really-think-william-burroughs-was-onto-something-here-when-he-said/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [Burroughs's voice is hard, derisive, inventive, free, funny, serious, poetic, indelibly American.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/burroughs-s-voice-is-hard-derisive-inventive-free-funny-serious/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Burroughs is the greatest satirical writer since Jonathan Swift. . . . The net result of Naked Lunch will be to make people shudder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/burroughs-is-the-greatest-satirical-writer-since-jonathan-swift-the/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [“Burroughs ... his very junkhood an accomplishment beyond a million dollars.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/burroughs-his-very-junkhood-an-accomplishment-beyond-a-million-dollars/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) > [ \[william\] Burroughs, incidentally, took up the slogan that we are "Here to go", which contradicts the tendency in Eastern mysticism to advocate staying where… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/william-burroughs-incidentally-took-up-the-slogan-that-we-are-here-to/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [“Did I ever tell you about the man who taught his asshole to talk? His whole abdomen would move up and down, you dig,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/did-i-ever-tell-you-about-the-man-who-taught-his-asshole-to-talk-his/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [Hollis thought he looked like William Burroughs, minus the bohemian substrate (or perhaps the methadone). Like someone who'd be invited quail shooting with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/hollis-thought-he-looked-like-william-burroughs-minus-the-bohemian/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) ## More by Michael Dirda > [Nearly all the writing of our time is likely to disappear in a hundred years. Certainly most readers - and nearly all critics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/nearly-all-the-writing-of-our-time-is-likely-to-disappear-in-a/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I sometimes lie awake at night and try to imagine what would be the best period in history to spend one's seventy-odd years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-sometimes-lie-awake-at-night-and-try-to-imagine-what-would-be-the/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [To my mind, 'Dear Brutus' stands halfway between Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' and Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's 'Into the Woods'. Like them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/to-my-mind-dear-brutus-stands-halfway-between-shakespeare-s-a/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [The goal of a just society should be to provide satisfying work with a living wage to all its citizens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/the-goal-of-a-just-society-should-be-to-provide-satisfying-work-with/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Most lyric poetry is about love, whether yearned after, fulfilled, or wistfully regretted; what isn't tends to consist of laments and cris du coeur…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/most-lyric-poetry-is-about-love-whether-yearned-after-fulfilled-or/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [“Books, by their very nature and variety, help us grow in empathy for others, in tolerance and awareness. But they should increase our skepticism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/books-by-their-very-nature-and-variety-help-us-grow-in-empathy-for/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [My gift, if that's not too grandiose a term, is one for describing novels, biographies, and works of history in such a way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/my-gift-if-that-s-not-too-grandiose-a-term-is-one-for-describing/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Once we know the plot and its surprises, we can appreciate a book's artistry without the usual confusion and sap flow of emotion, content…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/once-we-know-the-plot-and-its-surprises-we-can-appreciate-a-book-s/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [My wife tells me I should check out 'Downton Abbey', but I gather that series might be almost too intense for my temperate nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/my-wife-tells-me-i-should-check-out-downton-abbey-but-i-gather-that/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [A reviewer's lot is not always an easy one. I can remember flogging myself to finish Harold Brodkey's 'The Runaway Soul' despite the novel's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/a-reviewer-s-lot-is-not-always-an-easy-one-i-can-remember-flogging/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I once read that in vaudeville, it was often the straight guy who got paid more than the comic because that's the tougher job.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-once-read-that-in-vaudeville-it-was-often-the-straight-guy-who-got/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [From the late 19th to the early 20th century, the December issue of almost any general-interest magazine regularly featured a holiday horror or two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/from-the-late-19th-to-the-early-20th-century-the-december-issue-of/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Neither my mom nor my dad ever bought me any comic books. Certainly not for Christmas. I suspect that doing so would have violated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/neither-my-mom-nor-my-dad-ever-bought-me-any-comic-books-certainly/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [For me, the two weeks between Christmas and Twelfth Night have come to be reserved for desultory reading. The pressure of the holiday is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/for-me-the-two-weeks-between-christmas-and-twelfth-night-have-come-to/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I've always liked an easygoing, colloquial style. I like the kind of reviewer who is essentially a fellow reader, an enthusiast, a fan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-ve-always-liked-an-easygoing-colloquial-style-i-like-the-kind-of/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) [Explore all 131 Michael Dirda quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) ## More 1950s quotes > [Unless you're of a certain age, you may not know my name, but you can Google it - I was a pretty big movie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tab-hunter/unless-you-re-of-a-certain-age-you-may-not-know-my-name-but-you-can/) [Tab Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tab-hunter/) > [“The 1950s witnessed especially rapid expansion of electronic and electrical firms, of tobacco, soft drink, and food-processing companies, and of the chemical, plastics, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-t-patterson/the-1950s-witnessed-especially-rapid-expansion-of-electronic-and/) [James T. Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-t-patterson/) > [In the late 1950s a major topic under discussion was whether Canada should acquire nuclear weapons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/in-the-late-1950s-a-major-topic-under-discussion-was-whether-canada/) [John Charles Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-charles-polanyi/) > [In the early 1950s, during the near avalanche of discoveries, rediscoveries, and redefinitions of subcellular components made possible by electron microscopy, those prospecting in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-emil-palade/in-the-early-1950s-during-the-near-avalanche-of-discoveries/) [George Emil Palade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-emil-palade/) > [What we're most aware of in 'Eight-Legged Freaks' is how similar it is to other movies, a recombinant mutated species itself, the product of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-mitchell/what-we-re-most-aware-of-in-eight-legged-freaks-is-how-similar-it-is/) [Elvis Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-mitchell/) > [I am a product of the 1950s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-jo-rupp/i-am-a-product-of-the-1950s/) Debra Jo Rupp > [We had a very upwardly mobile economy, and that peaked around the 1950s when the typical middle-class American family consisted of a father with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/we-had-a-very-upwardly-mobile-economy-and-that-peaked-around-the/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [“Nixon had sought the treatment of a psychiatrist throughout the 1950s.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-colapietro-roger-stone/nixon-had-sought-the-treatment-of-a-psychiatrist-throughout-the-1950s/) Mike Colapietro Roger Stone > [“Disneyland was one perfect answer. It provided, an almost sacred space where it is permissible and safe to let one's guard down, take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-le-mon/disneyland-was-one-perfect-answer-it-provided-an-almost-sacred-space/) [Leslie Le Mon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-le-mon/) > [“When they reached their ship, Ed gazed out at the bay. It was black. The sky was black, but the bay was even blacker.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-zlotchew/when-they-reached-their-ship-ed-gazed-out-at-the-bay-it-was-black-the/) [Clark Zlotchew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-zlotchew/) > [“In the 1950s at least less was expected of women. Now we're supposed to build a career, build a home, be the supermum that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/in-the-1950s-at-least-less-was-expected-of-women-now-we-re-supposed/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [The whole 1950s notion was find the right girl, get married, move to the suburbs and then hang out with the guys while she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-hefner/the-whole-1950s-notion-was-find-the-right-girl-get-married-move-to/) [Hugh Hefner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-hefner/) > [I started with very tonal 19th-century music because I wanted to be a violinist as a child. So this was my first music, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krzysztof-penderecki/i-started-with-very-tonal-19th-century-music-because-i-wanted-to-be-a/) [Krzysztof Penderecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krzysztof-penderecki/) > [“The country is like a great sponge—it finally absorbs you. Eventually you will get malaria or you will get dysentery and whatever you do,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hepburn/the-country-is-like-a-great-sponge-it-finally-absorbs-you-eventually/) [Katharine Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hepburn/) > [“Don't make a career out of underestimating me." — Claire de Haven”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/don-t-make-a-career-out-of-underestimating-me-claire-de-haven/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) Browse all 123 1950s quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I was a boy in the late 1950s, the public library refused to stock books by Edgar Rice Burroughs. 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