The story so far is that Waterstone’s cancelled a reading and signing at their Cardiff shop after bully tactics from some pathetic little outfit called Christian Voice, based in West Wales, where a large percentage of its membership, Stephen Green, lives.
The latest news comes from New Humanist’s blog, which tells us that Jones has emailed it to say:
Welsh AMs [Assembly Members] are now trying to get the reading cancelled at the Welsh Assembly due "to blasphemy and profanity in the poems" and that "the UK is a Christian country" and "believe in freedom of speech . . . but" – and I promise I have not sent an email or invited them or anything!!! I think it goes to show the knee jerk reactions that abound.
Also Borders have stepped in and we will be launching the book on Dec 11th at the Cardiff store with a further reading in London's Borders – which i hope will show the way that it should have been handled and that the issue was not how Christian Voice heard of the book but their reaction and their destruction of free speech. The venues I am reading at (and I could be reading any poem – even Rowan Williams!) are being bombarded and threatened with calls and emails from CV members and some are quite upset and anxious about this
Seems like that book of poems will sell and sell and sell. Christian fundies have got to be good for something, it seems!
By the way, we’ll be running an article in the next issue of G&LH on this saga, and will print the “offending” poem that speaks of sexual relations (tut-tut!) between Jesus and Mary Magdalene.
Meanwhile, enjoy the background here (where you'll get the first five posts in reverse chronological order) and here.
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Hat tip: MediaWatchWatch
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