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Title details for Reading Is My Window by Megan Sweeney - Available

Reading Is My Window

Books and the Art of Reading in Women's Prisons

by Megan Sweeney
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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, 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.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    February 15, 2010

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781469604367
      • File size: 3022 KB

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781469604367
      • File size: 3022 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      April 1, 2010
      This important book represents a significant contribution to interdisciplinary research focused on women prisoners' reading habits and attempts at self-education and improvement. Sweeney (English and Afroamerican and African Studies, Univ. of Michigan) interviewed 94 women prisoners and collected data on their experiences reading behind bars. Along the way, she provides insight into the history of reading and education in the U.S. penal system, attitudes toward African American urban fiction, and the gender and race politics of corrections. She details how reading and library service can be used as instruments of control by prison authorities and how prisoners still manage to use reading as a tool for self-improvement. In-depth portraits of two women prisoners show the positive impact reading can have despite a lack of educational programs. VERDICT This book will be of interest to a broad range of academics and students, including those in sociology, criminal justice, education, women's studies, African American studies, and literature. There will also be a strong secondary audience among those interested in adult literacy, prisoner advocacy, or social justice issues.Alison M. Lewis, Drexel Univ., Philadelphia

      Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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