Spanning the late 1700s and early 1800s, Jen Manion's Liberty's Prisoners examines the rich history of the penal system in early America. Using records from the Walnut St Prison and Eastern State Penitentiary, Manion paints a stirring portrait of incarcerated people. In doing so, she gives agency to the vast swathes of women, immigrants and working poor who have long been subject to an unjust justice system. Even though I am a newcomer to the field of carcarel studies, I found this text to be accessible and informative!

Languid and prosaic, Jenny Xie's Eye Level is a stunning collection of poetry. Rooted in East and South East Asian tradition, Xie paints a vivid portrait of the modern world, tackling issues like immigration and exile. Her sharp, rhythmic beat acts as a contrast to the soft imagery, creating an alluring, if unnerving, collection.

Wowowowow Emezi does it again! In Pet, a young girl Jam discovers that one of her mother's paintings comes to life. Her story and the story of her town, Lucille, will never be the same again. This is young adult in the same way Rushdie writes young adult, as in it's really for every age. Pet is a metaphor, a horror story, a fantastical narrative and a tale of hope all at once. I am beyond honored to be living at the same time as this glorious author.

Completely blew my mind! I didn't know so much of this history, especially the way Northern prison administration essentially carried the same racist principles as their Southern counterparts. I thought the later portions of the book on parole systems was particularly illuminating. In general, I love how Hicks centers the narratives by Black incarcerated women, using their own phrases and quotes from personal letters & returns a sense of agency.

Honestly on a reread, I still loved Flaubert's use of language and the juxtaposition of the pretty and the ugly in this text. That being said, now that I'm older, I wonder how much of Flaubert's own misogyny made its way into the text?

Thank you to Thread Books and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy!

Available April 2022

Tender and precocious, Sharon Jo Maas's memoir describes her upbringing in tumultuous British Guyana in the early 70s. Led by two brilliant parents, Maas had a life of relative independence. The story unfolds in two parts - her early life in BG and her later adventures in England. Preoccupied with ideas of race, class and ponies, Maas paints an endearing coming of age memoir that captures the heart.

I will say Conrad made some great realizations about the dangers of colonialism but he comes at it with a racist mentality that is hard to overlook, especially as a POC. Conrad doesn't shy away from the violence inherent in colonialism but he repeatedly keeps putting down Black people and debating if they even deserve rights. That's the most upsetting part of it - as a white man, Conrad is allowed to debate the subjugation of another race to slavery as a thought experiment and face none of the actual consequences.

Phenomenal!! I loved how in depth and variable this book is, offering us perspectives from both America and Mexico. The issue of immigration detention centers is one that has been rising and has troubling historical connections to the American Prison Industry that need to be examined closely. Chase brings some of the top researchers in carcarel studies for a truly fantastic read.

Honestly I found this very dense and difficult to navigate, not my cup of tea.

Dan Berger presents a great overview of the prison movement & outlines potential strategies to continue resisting the growth of the carceral state.