Bookshelf

Alumni and faculty members who would like to have their books considered for this listing should contact Stacey Himmelberger, editor of Hamilton magazine. This list, which dates back to 2018, is updated periodically with books appearing alphabetically on the date of entry.

Inside Knowledge: Incarcerated People on the Failures of the American Prison by Doran Larson, Professor of Literature and Creative Writing.

March 21, 2024

Tags Faculty Book

(New York: NYU Press, 2024).

Described as the first book to examine the American prison system through the eyes of those trapped within it, Inside Knowledge draws from writings collected through the American Prison Writing Archive, which the author founded in 2009. Larson draws from the archive’s first-person narratives created by incarcerated individuals and prison workers to illustrate how mass incarceration does less to contain any harm perpetrated by convicted people than to spread and perpetuate harm among their families and communities.

The publisher notes, “If prisons are places where convicted people are sent to learn a lesson, then imprisoned people are the ones who know just what American prisons actually teach. At once profound and devastating, Inside Knowledge is an invaluable resource for those interested in addressing mass incarceration in America.”