Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion
2019 Read Harder Challenge
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Task #20: A book written in prison
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Saluka
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Jan 12, 2019 06:54AM
Reading Writing My Wrongs for this one. Not very far into it and not certain what I think. So far, it seems a little formulaic but reserving judgment.
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HI all! I'm not doing the challenge this year but I have some ideas for this prompt. de Sade wrote a lot while in prison. There is De Profundis by Oscar Wilde written while he was in prison and some other work too: "The Annotated Prison Writings of Oscar Wilde" published by Harvard. Here is a handy Wikipedia list https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison_...
Concentration camps and other detention camps where habeas corpus is suspended are prisons, so WW2 writing and those from Manus and Nauru would be included. Also, writings from POWs and political dissidents.
Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur - I had no clue this was written in prison!
This might be a tall ask, but can anyone recommend a middle grade or YA book for this task, or something that would be appropriate for an eleven year old? (She doesn’t need to be sheltered from the difficulties of incarceration, just maybe...marquis de sade. Or books way beyond her reading/comprehension level.)Is anyone else doing this with a kid? What have you found?
The Sun does Shine is on sale for Kindle today. It’s about a death row inmate who was jailed for crimes he didn’t commit. It was an Oprah Book Club selection last year. I can’t tell from the description if it was written in prison, though. Does anyone know?
Dawn wrote: "The Sun does Shine is on sale for Kindle today. It’s about a death row inmate who was jailed for crimes he didn’t commit. It was an Oprah Book Club selection last year. I can’t tell from the descri..."he didnt write it in prison - After being released, Hinton wrote and published a memoir The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row (2018).
Will "The Sun Does Shine" by Anthony Hinton work here?
Deborah wrote: "Will "The Sun Does Shine" by Anthony Hinton work here?"See answer above.
I read Marching Powder, by Thomas McFadden, it was written in prison, by a journalist who lived in the prison for 3 months. Fascinating read
A Quest for Redemption: Stories from Prison by Keir Weimer
This was hard to pick.I mainly wanted a book that was written by an ordinary prisoner and wanted stories of people in prison.I have decided to read The Graybar Hotel https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...Is anyone reading this?
rae wrote: "This might be a tall ask, but can anyone recommend a middle grade or YA book for this task, or something that would be appropriate for an eleven year old? (She doesn’t need to be sheltered from the..."Letter from the Birmingham Jail is available online (https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles...), an important read, and probably the shortest literary work available for this task.
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is fairly short at ~200 pages and I love it. The reading comprehension may be difficult for an 11-year-old, but if you read out loud, or at least along side and can answer questions, it would be doable.
I'm finally going to give in and read Shantaram. My son recommended it a couple of years ago and I've put it off because it is close to 1000 pages, but it fits this prompt and it's on my TBR shelf.
I’ll be reading Soul on Ice by Eldridge Cleaver. It was written while he was serving a sentence in Folsom in 1965. I’ve been meaning to get around to reading this one for years!
What about The Sun Does Shine by Hinton? I am unsure if it was written after his release.
Jennifer wrote: "What about The Sun Does Shine by Hinton? I am unsure if it was written after his release."It was written after his release.
Two that I'm considering that I don't think have been mentioned yet areThe Consolation of Philosophy
Dark Night of the Soul
Mod
Kelli, I just picked up Shantaram on the recommendation of a small bookstore in NYC, and now just saw your post.
I am trying to read books by female authors for all of the RH challenges, and I'm having an exceedingly difficult time in this category. Any recommendations/suggestions?
Jane wrote: "I am trying to read books by female authors for all of the RH challenges, and I'm having an exceedingly difficult time in this category. Any recommendations/suggestions?"The very first one on the BR recommendation list is edited by a woman and contains women's writings...
Jane wrote: "I am trying to read books by female authors for all of the RH challenges, and I'm having an exceedingly difficult time in this category. Any recommendations/suggestions?"I read From the Inside: Life in a Women's Prison - By the Charity Worker Who Should Never Have Been There. It all happened in my hometown, and so is extra relevant for me, and very poignant.
Inside This Place Not Of It: Narratives from Women's Prisons by Ayelet Waldman. While Waldman was not writing in prison, the stories within are all of women in prison. Or the Wally Lamb book mentioned above by several people, he is not a woman, but the stories in his book are all by women.
I read Prison Poems by Daniel Berrigan for this. Berrigan was a member of the Catonsville Nine, a Jesuit priest who was jailed during the Vietnam War for burning government draft records. He wrote this collection in prison, and though it's got a bit of a slow start, by the middle it's enormously compelling - ugly, angry protest poetry against atrocities like My Lai.
I'm reading Prison Noir, a collection of short stories written by inmates. It's edited by Joyce Carol Oates, who has also taught writing to prison populations.
Sara wrote: "I'm going to be reading Prison Poems by Mahvash Sabet, an Iranian Baha'i who was imprisoned for her faith."I just read this. It was very good.
I'm planning to read No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison for this one, written by a Kurdish man detained by Australia with other refugees at a "processing centre" in Papua New Guinea.
Currently reading Conversations With Myself by Nelson Mandela for this - it's a great mix of letters from prison as well as unpublished parts of his autobiography that he wrote while imprisoned.
The book I plan to read for this one, Prison Noir, is currently on sale in most ebook formats for $1.99.
Also many libraries have the Akashic Noir series. Prison Noir is one of theirs.
I just found Prison Writings: My Life Is My Sun Dance, by Leonard Peltier, at a library book sale. It was published 20 years ago. I have been interested in his story for a while- it looks like this is the year to learn more!
just coming here to encourage everyone to read No Friend but the Mountains. the author, Kurdish journalist and poet Behrouz Boochani, wrote it one WhatsApp message at a time on a secret phone over the course of FIVE YEARS and the whole thing was translated from Farsi. it's incredible that it exists at all and he could be forgiven for a basic retelling of his ordeal... but it's a really beautifully written book and (rightly) won Australia's top literary prize. in this era of unlawful detention of refugees and asylum seekers, it should be required reading for everyone.
Sarah wrote: "just coming here to encourage everyone to read No Friend but the Mountains. the author, Kurdish journalist and poet Behrouz Boochani, wrote it one WhatsApp message at a time on a secret phone over ..."Thank you for this suggestion!! I have struggled finding something I genuinely felt pulled to read in this challenge, but this sounds absolutely perfect!
And - extra bonus for anyone whose library offers it - the ebook is available on Hoopla.
I read Soul on Ice. Actually it was a reread from 50+ years ago as a preteen. Needless to say, I got little out of it at that time. I was so impressed with Eldridge Cleaver's intellectuality and writing skills!
Thanks, I added No Friend to my I want to read list. Most interested to learn more about the author. Especially as there are a couple of other books he has written. Are they all written without Australian government being aware?
I read Riots I Have Known by Ryan Chapman. I had a terrible time picking a book for this. I couldn’t tell if it should be non-fiction or fiction. I thought this book sounded doable so I read it. It is fiction. The main character is in prison & edits the literary magazine. He is writing about his experiences in prison & before during a riot. It was alright. It had some good moments then I would loose that thread.
Riots I Have Known was not written in prison.
I just read Dawn by Selahattin Demirtaş for this challenge and loved it! It's a short collection of stories/fables about ordinary people in Turkey and how political strife inadvertently affects their lives. The author is currently in a high-security prison (for 183 years!) for his political views. I found the stories very human—simple but touching. Highly recommend!
Tracy wrote: "Im going to go with One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. I am tempted to stretch this though and use [book:The Maximum Security Book Club: Reading Literature in a Men's Prison|26795..."It is certainly long, but it is certainly worth it. I loved the book and highly recommend it.
Several of Wahida Clark's books were written in prison (those published prior to 2007), including Thugs and the Women Who Love Them.
Any reason not to allow an interview/oral history type book like Inside This Place, Not of It: Narratives from Women's Prisons? I guess it's not strictly speaking "written" in prison. I've read (and highly recommend) a few of the Voice of Witness series.
Anna (lion_reads) wrote: "I just read Dawn by Selahattin Demirtaş for this challenge and loved it! It's a short collection of stories/fables about ordinary people in Turkey and how political strife inadverte..."This is the book I plan to read. Short stories aren't usually my thing but I've heard only good things about this collection.
I'm late to this discussion, but I am planning to read The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius. He wrote it while in prison awaiting trial for treason in 523/24 AD.
Tammy wrote: "I just found Prison Writings: My Life Is My Sun Dance, by Leonard Peltier, at a library book sale. It was published 20 years ago. I have been interested in his story for a while- it l..."Another update. I have been slowly reading this book, and though I feel it's an important topic, I'm not finding it too exciting. I'll probably still finish it, though, to count for the task. There were some good suggestions from others, but I have too many other books I want to read!
Cherry by Nico Walker was originally written in prison, newish release
Sonia wrote: "Wanting to read No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison for this one, but it is written by someone in a refugee detention centre and not sure if that counts. What do ..."He was illegally detained there because he was a journalist and the fact that he had to smuggle the toilet paper Pages he wrote on I think it counts. He is apolitical prisoner.... think of Jew in Natzi Germany, some say detention camp some say prison.
Kerri wrote: "rae wrote: "This might be a tall ask, but can anyone recommend a middle grade or YA book for this task, or something that would be appropriate for an eleven year old? (She doesn’t need to be shelte..."Zek: An American Prison Story is written in the style of Denisovich (following one day in the life of the main character), and is also fairly short with accessible language. There are definitely some difficult topics, so I would recommend reading it yourself first to check (again, very possible because it's short). I've always thought that it would be a great unit in a high school class to teach both books.
Zek was written recently in a Washington State prison, and I could not recommend it more highly for anyone looking to fill this challenge (also has like 9 reviews on Goodreads, so would fit that other challenge also). https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/sho...
I recently finished The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela by Nelson Mandela and edited by Sahm Venter for this prompt.
No Friend But The Mountain would also count as a book set in Oceania, correct?
Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
De Profundis (other topics)The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela (other topics)
No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison (other topics)
Prison Writings (other topics)
Dawn (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Oscar Wilde (other topics)Nelson Mandela (other topics)
Sahm Venter (other topics)
Wahida Clark (other topics)
Joyce Carol Oates (other topics)
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