Shigeyoshi "Shig" Murao | |
|---|---|
村尾重芳 | |
 Self portrait photo-collage of Shig Murao | |
| Born | December 8, 1926 |
| Died | October 18, 1999 (aged 72) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Manager of City Lights Bookstore |
| Conviction(s) | Not guilty |
| Criminal charge | Sale of obscene material |
Shigeyoshi "Shig" Murao (村尾 重芳, Murao Shigeyoshi, b. December 8, 1926 – d. October 18, 1999) was a Japanese-American bookseller who is mainly remembered as the City Lights manager and clerk who was arrested on June 3, 1957, for selling Allen Ginsberg's Howl to an undercover San Francisco police officer.[1] In the trial that followed, Murao was charged with selling the book and Lawrence Ferlinghetti with publishing it. Murao and Ferlinghetti were exonerated, and Howl was judged protected under the First Amendment, a decision that paved the way for the publication of Henry Miller, D.H. Lawrence, William Burroughs, and many other writers who offended the sensibilities of the majority.[2]