Reading Is My Window - Books and the Art of Reading in Women's Prisons (Paperback, New edition)

Women prisoners gain insight and inspiration through their creative reading practices. Drawing on extensive interviews with ninety-four women prisoners, Megan Sweeney examines how incarcerated women use available reading materials to come to terms with their pasts, negotiate their present experiences, and reach toward different futures. Foregrounding the voices of African American women, Sweeney analyzes how prisoners read three popular genres: narratives of victimization, urban crime fiction, and self-help books. She outlines the history of reading and education in U.S. prisons, highlighting how the increasing dehumanization of prisoners has resulted in diminished prison libraries and restricted opportunities for reading. Although penal officials have sometimes endorsed reading as a means to control prisoners, Sweeney illuminates the resourceful ways in which prisoners educate and empower themselves through reading. Given the scarcity of counseling and education in prisons, Sweeney argues that women use books to make meaning from their experiences, to gain guidance and support, to experiment with new ways of being, and to maintain connections with the world.

General

Imprint:	The University of North Carolina Press
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	2010
First published:	February 2010
Authors:	Megan Sweeney
Dimensions:	235 x 156 x 26mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback
Pages:	352
Edition:	New edition
ISBN-13:	978-0-8078-7100-3
Categories:	Books > Language & Literature > Literature: history & criticism > Literary studies > General Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Crime & criminology > Penology & punishment > Prisons Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Crime & criminology > Offenders > General
LSN:	0-8078-7100-1
Barcode:	9780807871003

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