Memoirs from Behind Bars

George Jackson, author of Soledad Brother, with pen and paper

In a new essay called "Behind Bars," Jay Parini reflects on the power of memoirs written from American prisons over the course of the twentieth century:

"These books are about self-realization as well as self-justification. They describe a similar pattern: getting into trouble, confronting the claustrophobic and unforgiving world of prison, dealing with growing despair until something or somebody offers a crack in the wall, a little bit of daylight shining through. After a great deal of soul-searching, the writer/prisoner reaches a fresh sense of selfhood, coming to terms with the original sin, forgiving himself or herself. In the very best of these memoirs--especially with a prisoner of conscience or one unjustly jailed--there is often a redeeming social vision at work. The genre bleeds into that of spiritual autobiography...."