The liberal arts are techniques for freedom.
Reading from The Maximum Security Book Club and Q&A at the Enoch Pratt Library on June 15, 2016, with (l to r) JCI Scholar Vincent, Baynard Woods, Correspondent for the Guardian and writer for the City Paper, Glennor Shirley, Maryland State Prison Librarian, and JCI Scholar Mikita Brottman. You can listen to interviews with Mikita […]
Guest post by Steven Diffendal Prior to attending Dr. Sizer’s class, I did not possess the knowledge as to what distinguished a bandit from an outlaw. Dr. Sizer explained how historical facts differ from those of the folk legends that we have come to know. I came away from Dr. Sizer’s lecture with information such […]
Guest post by Donald Gross (R.I.P Douglas Scott Arey) Wow! This particular lecture had to be one of the most, if not the most informative lectures that I have ever had the pleasure of participating in. I would never have guessed in a hundred years that a Q and A during the lecture would be […]
Guest posts, March 15 2016 Michael Whittlesey “Ladies and Gentlemen, friends, fellow citizens. I am not here today to tell you about policy reform – you have heard politician after politician speak about “Change.” I am NOT here today to tell you about change. I am here to talk about abolishment. We need to come […]
Guest post by Shane Barnett We were honored to have Professor Paul Jaskunas from MICA present to us the first chapter of his novel “Cybelle” this past Tuesday, a story about the coming of age of a rural West Virginia girl battling to overcome mediocrity. In his first chapter, Jaskunas illustrates the struggle of Cybelle […]
We finished the class by watching the 1954 animated version of Animal Farm, directed by Joy Batchelor and John Halas, which is an interesting movie in its own right, but a very watered down version of Orwell’s allegory. I’m sure none of the men were surprised that the ending of Animal Farm was depressing, but […]
Animal Farm is starting to get depressing, but I think we all predicted that. And not all the animals are having a hard time. As top pig, Napoleon is in the pink. He’s even going to market and bringing home the bacon. By the end of these two chapters, Napoleon’s regime is definitely worse than […]
The men were not in a good mood today – and understandably so. According to a recent memo, the new DPSCS Secretary has decided that, from December 1, in order to curb the passing of contraband, there will be no more physical contact during prison visits–no touching, no kissing on the mouth, no hugging. What […]
Our second book of the semester is Mike’s choice: Ernest Hemingway: The Old Man and the Sea. I have to say: Hemingway is the kind of author I think of as another “man’s” writer. Like Steinbeck, it’s all externals, action, physical details. This is another book I’m going to be suffering through. I hope everyone […]
I’m writing this paper while lying in a hospital bed in the Emergency Room at MedStar Memorial Hospital, where I was sent this morning after consulting the doctor about my knee. It’s not an injury, she said, but an infection, which makes sense now I think about it. Let’s hope they don’t have to amputate. […]
This semester, we’re trying something different in Advanced Literature. After putting the men through Conrad, Melville, Poe, Shakespeare, Nabokov, etc., I’ve decided to turn the tables and let them select the books for a change. The book we’ve started with is Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, chosen by Mr. Gross. The book is […]