TIL my old high school teacher had a book banned in Singapore for 12 years

Ran into my history teacher at a coffee shop in Portland last month and he pulled out a worn copy of his own novel - turns out it was banned there for mentioning the 1964 race riots. Made me wonder how many little stories like his just quietly disappear from shelves without anyone here even knowing.

3 comments

3 Comments

harperwright15h agoProlific Poster

Actually the 1964 race riots were briefly covered in a few local papers here, not fully banned.

blake_smith11h ago

Six dollars for the paperback or did you score it cheaper?

the_jason10h ago

Wait, you found a book about the 1964 race riots for six bucks? Is it just a pamphlet with one page that says "it got hot outside that summer" and nothing else? I half expect the paperback to be missing every other chapter and have someone's coffee ring stains on the cover. Six dollars sounds like a steal unless the only copy left has "This book is too spicy, do not read" written on the inside flap in pen. Maybe the price is low because it was banned so hard the publisher had to unload them from a trunk in an alley.