In the June issue of Harper's, the magazine ran an article titled A mind dismembered: In search of the magical penis thieves. It tells the story of writer Frank Bures' trek through Nigeria in search of details about the phenomenon of "magical penis loss," an syndrome where men believe witch doctors shrink their neither regions.

Despite its title, the story is more about African culture and the phenomenon of "culture-bound syndromes" than penises. Why, that sounds like it would make interesting, useful and entertaining reading for a sophomore English class learning Buchi Emecheta's The Bride Price, a novel about 1950s Nigeria, in which medicine men play a prominent role.

Not if you teach in Brooklyn high schools.

Philip Watt, a teacher at the Dr. Susan S. McKinney Secondary School of the Arts at 101 Park Avenue in Brooklyn, was dismissed from his job after giving a copy of the article to his students to read. His letter to the editors of Harper's, which appears in the October issue:

I am a subscriber to Harper's Magazine, and I was a teacher, too, until the distribution of a recent article led to my "dis-continuance."

When I read Frank Bures's article on Nigeria's magical penis thieves [“A Mind Dismembered,” Letter, June], I was excited to shareit with my sophomoreEnglish students, who happened to be reading Buchi Emecheta's The Bride Price, a richly descriptive novel set in 1950s Nigeria and featuring juju-practicing medicine men. I introduced the article with a mini lesson entitled "The Penis Thieves of Lagos," in which I explained that Bures's report was "gonzo" and that it revealed a current phenomenon of Nigerian culture...

...Later that week, the student was in the principal's office on unrelated business. The principal asked to see what she was reading, which was "A Mind Dismembered." I was summoned to the office and dressed down something fierce by the principal, who imperiously informed me that the content was "highly inappropriate" and foretold my "downfall." I made my case levelly and squarely, justifying the transmission of the article along scholarly lines but accepting that I had made a mistake with regard to content. I apologized for my mistake.

Since this incident, I have had my rating changed from Satisfactory to Unsatisfactory. I was removed from a summer-school position in Manhattan. I am barred from teaching in the fall, and because of the manner in which I was let go, I am disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits. It should be noted that no complaint was instigated by the student, whom I have taught for two years and who is one of the most advanced students in the tenth grade.

Philip Watt
Brooklyn, N.Y.