Belloc’s comic verse given warning for ‘hurtful’ rhymes

CLASSIC children’s poems have been given a trigger warning by a publisher because they may be “harmful” to modern readers, The Telegraph can reveal.

Hilaire Belloc’s popular comic verse, including 1907’s Cautionary Tales For Children, has been republished by Pan Macmillan with a new cautionary note.

A trigger warning printed in the collection of humorous poems warns that the rhymes may be “hurtful or indeed harmful” to modern-day readers.

The disclaimer points to potentially troubling “phrases and terminology” in the collection which includes animal-themed verse and parody poems such as “Jim: Who ran away from his Nurse, and was eaten by a Lion”.

The latest cautionary note about language in historic works is part of a new trend in publishing in which trigger warnings have been printed in reissued works by Ian Fleming, Agatha Christie and Roald Dahl.

Pan Macmillan has added a note to the Belloc collection that warns the text has not been edited and is therefore “true to the original in every way and is reflective of the language and period in which it was originally written”.

It adds: “Readers should be aware that there may be hurtful or indeed harmful phrases and terminology that were prevalent at the time this book was written and in the context of the historical setting of this book.”

The publisher adds that “Macmillan believes changing the text to reflect today’s world would undermine the authenticity of the original, so has decided to leave the text in its entirety”.

However, the publishing house states that retaining the original language of the author does not constitute an endorsement of the “characterisation, content or language” in Belloc’s poems.

Chris Hare, the vice chairman of the Hilaire Belloc society, has criticised the use of warnings.

He told The Telegraph: “We live in an age where people are permanently anxious about causing offence.

“Belloc himself saw this coming. I think he wouldn’t be surprised by this, although he would likely be saddened if it was because of his poetry.”

Pan Macmillan has been approached for comment.