This talk considers a comment Samuel Delany made concerning the long 22-year period in which he couldn't get his novel Hogg (a pornographic novel that focuses heavily on violence, sexual torture and rape, including of children) published: Delany commented that censorship of a genre-set of art that depicts the suffering of human bodies is directly related to the practice of political torture. Scott discusses Delany's argument in relation to Mark Danner's 2009 comments about the public revelations of the Bush Administration torture. He links these comments to a discussion about torture and censorship that focuses on Delany's novel, and on a 2009 New York Times report that Attorney General John Ashcroft insisted that George Tenet not tell him the "fine details" of the post-9/11 torture plans, as well as Ashcroft's 2002/3 decision to cover up the naked breast of the "Spirit of Justice" statue at the Justice Department. This talk is part of the Lesbian, Gay, Queer Research Initiative (LGQRI) and is cosponsored by American Culture, English Language and Literature, and the MFA Program in Creative Writing.