Complete Works of James Joyce (367 page)

On the Moral Right of Author
s

A particular point in the history of the publication of
Ulysses
in the United States seems to me both interesting and noteworthy: it makes explicit one aspect of an author’s right over his work which has not been brought to light until now. The importation of
Ulysses
had been forbidden since 1922, and this ban was not lifted until
1934. In
such circumstances it had been impossible to secure copyright for the United States. In 1925 an unscrupulous American publisher circulated a truncated edition of
Ulysses
over which the author, unable to secure copyright, had no control. An international protest signed by 167 writers was published and legal proceedings were begun. The result of these proceedings was the judgement delivered at a sitting of the Supreme Court of New York on 27 December
1928, a
judgement which forbade the defendants (the publishers) ‘from using the name of the plaintiff (Joyce), first, in any journal, periodical or other publication published by them; second, in relation to any book, piece of writing, manuscript, understood to be the work entitled
Ulysses’
(Joyce against
Two Worlds Monthly
and Samuel Roth, II Dep. Supreme Court New York, 27 December 1928).

It is, I believe, possible to reach a judicial conclusion from this judgement to the effect that, while unprotected by the written law of copyright and even if it is banned, a work belongs to its author by virtue of a natural right and that thus the law can protect an author against the mutilation and the publication of his work just as he is protected against the misuse that can be made of his name.

Joyce’s grave, Fluntern Cemetery - Zurich, Switzerland

The famous writer Ezra Pound visiting Joyce’s grave