The controversy stemmed from two poems by Diana Hunt published in the Uplyme Parish News, a monthly freesheet for a village of 1,700 residents on the Devon-Dorset border. In the March edition, her poem 'Know It All' targeted illegal migrants, benefits cheats, and fat people who cannot afford to eat. The April edition included 'Broken Britain,' which referenced drug users dealing drugs in public, illegal immigrants flooding to shores for hotel rooms and benefits, and homeless people.
Hunt's work had previously featured regularly in the publication. The backlash was immediate, with three complaints received by editor Robin Hodges. Hodges apologized, accepted it was not appropriate subject matter for a church magazine, and promised to publish a statement addressing the controversy in May's edition.
It was a lapse of judgement on my part which I regret, we are going to put something in the May edition.
He culled the offending editions from the church website and vowed to stop publishing Hunt's poems with immediate effect. Hodges insisted he was not censoring anyone. Hunt was sad that people took her poems the wrong way.
It remains unclear what specific content in the poems was most offensive to readers or how many total complaints were received beyond the three mentioned. The broader community reaction beyond the complainants is also not detailed, and it is unknown if Hunt will continue to contribute to other publications.
I have been in contact with Diana via email and she was really sad that people took it the wrong way.
Maybe it was not the right thing to go into a church magazine, I take full responsibility for it and I don't blame her at all.
It is not censorship, she was just sad that people took it the way that they did.