Talk: Stifled Laughter (Non-fiction) and The Miller's Tale (Fiction)

A memoir of censorship, free expression, and the surprising power of a centuries-old dirty joke.

For our September selection, we'll be exploring the theme of Banned Books through a unique pairing of nonfiction and fiction.

Our primary read is Stifled Laughter: One Woman's Story About Fighting Censorship by Claudia Durst Johnson, a firsthand account of one educator's battle against efforts to remove literature from classrooms and libraries. Through her story, we'll examine who gets to decide what is appropriate to read—and what is lost when books are silenced.

As a companion piece, we'll also read "The Miller's Tale" from Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales—the very story at the center of Johnson's censorship fight. While our club typically focuses exclusively on nonfiction, this short fiction selection offers us the rare opportunity to engage directly with the text that sparked controversy and to form our own opinions about its content and value.

Together, these readings invite us to consider questions that remain remarkably relevant today: What makes a book dangerous? Who decides? And what happens when laughter itself becomes controversial?

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### Agenda for the Meetup

10:30 AM – Warm welcomes & quick introductions
10:45 AM – Discussion of key themes
11:15 AM – Reflections, standout moments, and passages that stuck with you
11:30 AM – Meeting officially wraps…
11:45 AM – ☕ Optional lunch and casual conversation at a nearby restaurant!

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### Who’s Invited?

This group is open and inclusive, welcoming all men—gay, bi, straight, or however you identify—who enjoy good books, thoughtful dialogue, and conversations that linger long after the last chapter.
If you’ve ever believed books can change a life—or at least complicate one beautifully—this one’s for you.