prison Literature

  Order Description     Discuss the relationship between race and imprisonment as it is addressed in these readings. Questions to consider: How do the experiences and beliefs of the writers from this section of Prison Writing in 20th-century America support Michelle Alexander’s claims in “The New Jim Crow”? What does Pinero’s Short Eyes suggest about the significance of racial identity within prisons? Michelle Alexander’s “The New Jim Crow” “Plantation Prison” (PW 21-29) Malcolm X’s The Autobiography of Malcolm X (PW 147-155) George Jackson’s Soledad Brother (155-166) Iceberg Slim’s The Naked Soul of Iceberg Slim (PW 166-178) Piri Thomas’ Seven Long Times (PW 179-187) Nathan C. Heard’s House of Slammers (PW 280-290) Miguel Pinero’s Short Eyes