A Banned Book You Still Can't Read

Lenguaje de mudos [The Language of Mutes]

Prats, Delfín

Notes: 8-1/4 by 10-1/2 inches. 22 leaves. Edition of 100 copies.

A remarkable artist's book that embodies censorship. This book won the UNEAC prize for poetry in 1968 while still in manuscript. Immediately upon publication, the book was banned and virtually the entire edition was pulped (Worldcat records no copies of the first edition). "Language of Mutes" (at the title translates in English) has been reprinted many times in other Spanish-speaking countries, but until this edition, the book had never been available in the author's native country.

This edition, like the first, cannot be read, at least not without tearing the binding: the book is sealed with a die-cut paper band in the form of a strap and padlock. While Cuba's government censorship has lessened in recent years, such a powerful statement about censorship is a risk in Cuba today.

OCLC: FQG IQU VWM

Edition + Condition: A near fine copy in wrappers.

Publication: Holguín, Cuba: Editorial Cuadernos Papiro, 2011.

ISBN: 9789597163299

Item No: #306038

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