Norman Mailer: Works and Days

Sex and Censorship in Literature and the Arts

Mailer's debut in Playboy — a substantial symposium contribution on obscenity, censorship, and the writer's privileges, the first of many appearances in the magazine. Reprinted, in part, as part of 'Petty Notes on Some Sex in America' in Cannibals and Christians (66.11) and The Idol and the Octopus (68.11).

“Sex and Censorship in Literature and the Arts.” Playboy, July 1961, 27–28, 72, 74, 76, 88, 92, 95–99. Symposium contribution.

Mailer’s first appearance in Playboy — a substantial multi-author symposium on obscenity, censorship, and what the writer is entitled to. The piece runs to seven non-continuous pages of the issue and is the first of many Mailer contributions to the magazine through the 1960s and 1970s.

Reprints

Reprinted, in part, as part of “Petty Notes on Some Sex in America” in Cannibals and Christians (66.11) and The Idol and the Octopus (68.11).

First published: 1961-07
Form: essay
Lennon & Lennon: 61.8
Cite as: /works/1961-07-sex-and-censorship
Last updated: 2026-05-26