The Kinsey Institute is pleased to be included in “The Burroughs Century,” a 5-day festival in Bloomington from February 5 through 9, which will examine and celebrate the legacy of William S. Burroughs, one of the principal figures of the Beat Generation and a ground-breaking American writer and artist. “The Right to Read” examines the pivotal role that Grove Press, which published Burroughs’ Naked Lunch and many other controversial books, played in the censorship battles of the late 1950s and early 1960s. The Kinsey Institute Library houses hundreds of books and serials issued by Grove Press, an independent publishing house in New York. Publisher Barney Rosset did not hesitate to challenge long-standing obscenity laws in his quest to bring some of the 19th and 20th century’s most intriguing literature to American readers. In addition to the work of Burroughs, Grove Press was the first to legally publish Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence, as well as the works of Henry Miller, Jean Genet, and anonymous Victorian authors of erotic literature.
The Kinsey Institute is open to visitors from 1:30 to 5:00 pm Monday thru Friday or in the morning by appointment. Admission is free. Due to adult content, visitors should be 18 years of age or older, unless accompanied by a parent or guardian. To schedule a guided group tour of The Kinsey Institute, call 812-855-7686.