Review: Stephen John Hartnett (2003). Incarceration Nation: Investigative Prison Poems of Hope and Terror

Abstract

Incarceration Nation: Investigative Poems of Prison, Hope and Terror is the poetic outcome of the author's nine-year commitment to working in prisons as a teacher. For 12 years he has been writing about prison life and protesting conditions within prisons; he has never given up his hopes for a brighter future for those who are locked up. The poems are the result of his interactions with prisoners and those who have supported his efforts to explore the prison-industrial-complex, to reveal the ills of the system, and yet not to lose sight of the vision of American poet, Walt WHITMAN, who described "America as the world's best and most radical experiment in democracy" (p.1). Seven major sections organize 33 poetic pieces related to various prison settings, as well as to the author's life on the outside. A rich selection of notes supports the poetry. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0502149