In STIFLED LAUGHTER, Claudia Johnson details her struggles in an earlier, rural Florida arena to prevent books from being banned. She also chronicles her latest efforts in Virginia, centered on this same crucial issue.

When living in southern Florida, completing her university degree and initiating what would be a notable career as a writer and observer of the American scene, Johnson learned that two books were being pulled from the shelves of local schools. One was a work that she had plucked from her parents’ bookshelf at age 14, THE MILLER’S TALE, a segment of Chaucer’s THE CANTERBURY TALES that her mother recommended and that made her realize that literature could be funny. The other was LYSISTRATA by Aristophanes, an ancient comedic story of a woman’s determination to end war by depriving men of the one thing they wanted more than anything --- sex, of course. Both were seen as highly inappropriate for young readers, sexually explicit and containing words that, if a child were to say them in school, might get him or her suspended.

"Johnson...writes with intellectual depth, human-scale understanding and high good humor."

When activists stepped in, a lengthy lawsuit ensued. Johnson, a mother and a concerned citizen who was determined to see American free speech rights upheld, was at the forefront of the fray. The battle raged on for several years, until she and her cohorts were successful in having these two works retained for young readers. The original tale is both enjoyable and educational.

Added to this revised edition is Johnson’s recent, also successful participation in opposing the efforts of Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin to have other, more contemporary books removed from school libraries. Arrayed with the admirable, alarming and sometimes amusing court records and news articles about the struggle is Johnson’s private background --- holding together her marriage and raising her children with laudable values while developing strategies and making sacrifices to oppose the abridgement of free speech.

Johnson, whose earlier version of STIFLED LAUGHTER won the 1993 PEN/Newman’s Own First Amendment Award and garnered a Pulitzer Prize nomination, writes with intellectual depth, human-scale understanding and high good humor. This brings her perspective to the current day when book banning has become a typical tactic for various groups, often politically fueled and initiated by people who have never read the full works in question.

Concerns remain, so Johnson and those like her will continue to speak out. As she so boldly states in her Preface, “I wrote this book because I believe there are better things to come for this country than grim-faced censors banning great books in the name of decency and moral correctness.” And the ability to keep smiling, promulgated so aptly by Johnson, will be a huge support as we fight for that ideal future.