Eugene Debs, labor organizer and leader of the Socialist Party, describes his experience at the federal penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was imprisoned at the age of 63 for 32 months for criticizing the government's jailing of Americans who opposed World War I.

Incarcerated bodies, liberated minds: a narrative of literacy education behind bars. Words No Bars Can Hold provides a rare glimpse into literacy learning under the most dehumanizing conditions. Deborah Appleman chronicles her work teaching college- level classes at a high- security prison for men, most of whom are serving life sentences. Through narrative, poetry, memoir, and fiction, the students in Appleman’s classes attempt to write themselves back into a society that has erased their lived histories. The students’ work, through which they probe and develop their identities as readers and writers, illuminates the transformative power of literacy. Appleman argues for the importance of educating the incarcerated, and explores ways to interrupt the increasingly common journey from urban schools to our nation’s prisons. From the sobering endpoint of what scholars have called the “school to prison pipeline,” she draws insight from the narratives and experiences of those who have traveled it.

This book is a collection of writings by people serving a sentence of Life With Out Parole in Iowa's prisons. Each contribution provides insight to the reader of how these 27 people have changed the way they think and what they have accomplished since their conviction. Much attention is being given today to the cost of incarceration, Mass Incarceration, mental health issues in prison, the length of sentences, over-crowing in the prison system and issues of Re-entry when people are released back into society. But rarely, if ever, are you given the opportunity to hear or read the words of men or women who are currently serving a life sentence in Iowa. Rarely, if ever, do you have the opportunity to learn how they think and what they think or feel as they go about their lives inside the walls.This book is not like the movies. It does not glamorize the criminal life style nor does it dramatize the lives of prisoners. It is simply 27 lifers, serving Life With Out the possibility of Parole (LWOP) telling you what they are like and what they have done since being convicted, IN THEIR OWN WORDS.

“Venkatraman has never met a heavy theme she did not like....Borrowing elements of fable, it's told with a recurring sense of awe by a boy whom the world, for most of his life, has existed only in stories.”—New York Times Book Review The author of the award-winning The Bridge Home brings readers another gripping novel set in Chennai, India, featuring a boy who's unexpectedly released into the world after spending his whole life in jail with his mom. Kabir has been in jail since the day he was born, because his mom is serving time for a crime she didn't commit. He's never met his dad, so the only family he's got are their cellmates, and the only place he feels the least bit free is in the classroom, where his kind teacher regales him with stories of the wonders of the outside world. Then one day a new warden arrives and announces Kabir is too old to stay. He gets handed over to a long-lost "uncle" who unfortunately turns out to be a fraud, and intends to sell Kabir. So Kabir does the only thing he can--run away as fast as his legs will take him. How does a boy with nowhere to go and no connections make his way? Fortunately, he befriends Rani, another street kid, and she takes him under her wing. But plotting their next move is hard--and fraught with danger--in a world that cares little for homeless, low caste children. This is not the world Kabir dreamed of--but he's discovered he's not the type to give up. Kabir is ready to show the world that he--and his mother--deserve a place in it.

Excerpt from Walls and Bars My prison experience includes three county jails, one state penitentiary, and one federal prison - I have no personal grievance to air. Special favors were never accorded me, nor would I accept any - Introduced to jail life in Chicago, 1894. - Recognized my kinship with prisoners everywhere - Prison problem is co-related with poverty which is a social disease - Any of us may go to prison at any time for breaking the law or upholding it. - My spirit was never imprisoned. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.