Page "Barney Rosset" Paragraph 7

: We had a case in New York and, of course, he wouldn ’ t go to the court.

I had lunch with him at a restaurant on sixth Avenue right near here called Alfred ’ s with our lawyer and three or four other people, and then we had to go to court.

But he wouldn ’ t go.

He ’ d been summonsed so he was breaking the law by not going.

So we went into court, and the District Attorney questioned me and said, “ You see that we have a jury here of men and women with children who go to school right near where that book is on sale, near the subway stop.

What ’ d you think they feel to have their children reading this book ?” So I took out the book and started reading and the jury started laughing and they thought it was wonderful.

I said to them, “ If your children got this book and read the whole book you ought to congratulate them .” And they loved it, and they refused to convict me of anything.

That was a great pleasure.

Miller couldn ’ t leave this country until the decision was in, verified and so forth.

For at least a year or two years, he couldn ’ t go.

It was so funny because they accused me of soliciting him to write the book — write Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn — in Brooklyn, and at that point I was only 8 years old!

Miller was a little older than me.

It was a specific charge against me that was absurd.

I was a pimp supposedly.

They didn ’ t even bother to see how ridiculous their charge would look.