This Week in Literary History: Mae West is Sentenced to Ten Days in Jail for Obscenity
Culture Index
Score Breakdown
Relevance
3/25
Freshness
25/25
Authority
18/20
Brand Signal
9/15
Depth
3/15
5-Axis Cultural Radar
This first appeared in Lit Hub’s Literary History newsletter—sign up here. On February 9, 1927, Mae West was arrested after a performance of her play Sex, which she had written and in which she starred. In fact, the New York Police Department’s

