Kto sa bojí Boba Albertsa? (K cenzúrnym zásahom proti brakovej literatúre na Slovensku v rokoch 1945 – 1948)
Who's afraid of Bob Alberts? (On censorship measures against pulp fiction in Slovakia in 1945–1948)

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this study is to examine the censorship measures that led to the banning of pulp fiction in Slovakia after the World War II. To clarify the issue, the introduction documents how the contemporary discourse on pulp fiction was formed and what its basic ideological foundations were. Examples from the period press are used for illustration, including journalistic articles by Alexander Matuška, Andrej Mráz, and Ľudo Zúbek, which contributed significantly to the creation of a negative image of pulp literature and were also direct stimuli for subsequent censorship interventions by the state apparatus. The main part of the article consists of a description of selected measures, including a detailed description of their consequences for publishing and distribution across the board. Using archival documents, the ban on the western novel Zlatá ostroha [The Golden Spur] by Bob Alberts, the pseudonym of Slovak writer Ratibor Bodecký (1922–1968), is examined in particular detail. The final part of the article mentions the chapbook series Ľudové čítanie [Folk reading], which was intended to replace banned literary pulp. Methodologically, the study is based on current views on the issue of control and regulation of literature.

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