Orwell on pulps ("Yank Mags") 0

[Sarg]

"There exists in America ... (a) huge array of 'pulp magazines,' graded so far as to cater for different types on fantasy, but nearly all having much the same mental atmosphere. A few of them go in for straight pornography, but the great majority are quite plainly aimed at sadists and masochists. Sold [in England] at threepence a copy under the title of 'Yank Mags,' these things used to enjoy considerable popularity in England..." 

"They are said to have been imported into this country as ballast, which accounted for their low price and crumpled appearance. Since the war the ships have been ballasted with something more useful, probably gravel."

Horizon, October 1944 (reprinted in As i Please: The Collected Essays, Journalism, and Letters of George Orwell, p.219)