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NEW BOOK TITLES FROM

DORIAN

THE YOUNGEST DIRECTOR by Martin Goff. The author of "The Plaster Fab ric" has another excellent novel-this one concerned with a young executive in a British import firm who is homosexual and in love with a boy when he knows he must marry for appearance if he wants to rise to the top in his career. There is trouble and complications, but Goff handles the story with tact and sympathy.

3.75

THE LAST OF THE SOUTHERN WINDS by David Loovis. Set in Key West, and presented with a sophistication made possible by its island remoteness, the story has operatic gaiety and shoddy violence. This book is bizane, not be cause of a pair of homosexual romances in it, but because the assortment of habitues spans the spectrum. 4.50

ADRIFT IN SOHO by Colin Wilson. Harry, discharged from the RAF, and with forty pounds in his pocket, leaves his midlands home and becomes a London bohemian. He does support himself without a job, and chalks up high experience with his two friends-Doreen, a simple girl, and Ricky, a talented and sensitive young painter.

3.50 THE IDENTITY OF DR. FRAZIER by George Sklar. This is a probe of the unconscious mind, in a fictionalized medical setting-a Jewish hospital in Bererly Hills. Dr. Frazier, in his search for success, gets into the depths of drink, and is confronted with the grim facts that his behavior wasn't so nice when alcohol took over. 3.95

THE EXILE OF CAPRI by Roger Peyrefitte. A wealthy young Freach youth of noble birth is sent to prison, attempts suicide, sad later settles himself on Capri where he builds a fabulous villa and surrounds himself with a host of varied characters, including a peasant boy whom he adopts and trains as a secretary. Central figure is a homosexual.

4.00

TRANSVESTISM COMMENTARY. A short collection of items and articles dealing with several aspects of the compulsion of men to dress as women, and the problem of "surgical sex change." 36 pages.

Dorian

1.25

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I

California's New Law

On Obscene Matter

By Terry L. Baum* of Sacramento

Effective September 15, 1961, California's law on obscene matter was revised. Chapter 2147 of the Statutes of 1961 (Assembly Bill No. 1979) repealed the bulk of existing statutory provisions on the subject (Pen. C. secs. 311-314; Pen. C. sec. 968 relating to the form of accusatory pleadings was not affected and the indecent exposure provisions formerly in sec. 311 are reenacted without change in Pen. C. sec. 314) and added extensive provisions which include a definition of "obscene" and change the law as to the media to which the law applies, intent, the acts penalized, penalties, seizure and destruction of alleged obscene matter, and perhaps the relationship of state law to local ordinances (Pen. C. secs. 311-312). Such a revision is of particular interest in a state in which each of three cities has been alleged (with perhaps a touch of chamber of commerce enthusiasm) to be the "smut capital" of the United States.

In this article, the new law, its differences from the old, and some of the problems it suggests will be briefly discussed. Insofar as it related to writings, pictures, and threedimensional figures, former section 311 of the Penal Code provided:

Every person who wilfully and lewdly . . .:

3. Writes, composes, stereotypes, prints, publishes, sells, distributes, keeps for sale, or exhibits any obscene or indecent writing, paper, or book; or designs, copies, draws, engraves, paints, or otherwise prepares any obscene or indecent picture or print; or molds, cuts, casts, or otherwise makes any obscene or indecent figure; or

4. Writes, composes, or publishes any notice or advertisement of any such writing, paper, book, picture, print or figure . . . is guilty of a misdemeanor. Note: Despite the literal terms of subdivision 3, that provision had been so interpreted that all the verbs applied to *Deputy Legislative Counsel of California. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Legislative Counsel.

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