Lowrie, Donald. My Life in Prison. New York: Mitchell Kinnerley. 1912. Print
I was broke. I had not eaten in three days.
I had walked the streets for three nights. Every fibre of my being, every precept of my home training protested against and would not permit my begging.
I saw persons all about me spending money for trifles or luxuries. I envied the ragged street urchin as he took a nickel in exchange for a newspaper and ran expectantly to the next pedestrian. But I was broke and utterly miserable.
Have you ever been broke?
Have you ever been hungry and miserable, not knowing when or where you were going to get your next meal, nor where you were going to spend your next night?
Description:
I recently went through a period when I was drawn to prison books that describe life behind bars, particularly accounts written at the turn of the 20th century. It was fascinating to read these eye-witness accounts of men, prison life, guards, food, solitary, parole hearings, and, for some, eventual release into the world.
While you may not be immediately attracted to this subject, let me tell you these memoirs have all the elements in spades for great reads: interesting characters, unusual plot, and high-quality writing. These books prove that, in the hands of an observant, sensitive, and skilled writer, any topic can be gripping and moving to read. To avoid them is to miss an opportunity to see a world and its inhabitants invisible to most people but, of course, well-known to criminals.
One of the best historical prison memoirs, in my opinion, is My Life in Prison by Donald Lowrie. In the early 1900s, Lowrie, ravenously hungry, steals a watch and purse (together worth about $100), is apprehended and sentenced to the maximum 15 years in San Quentin prison. Sentences were meant to be punitive in those days, as was every minute of the time spent behind bars.
Through his careful descriptions, readers immediately recognize that Lowrie, the narrator, is neither a low-life habitual criminal nor a violent, evil man. His words, descriptions, and reasoning shows an intelligent, sensitive observer of the men around him, his world of incarceration, and of himself. Step by step he calmly describes his short trial, sentencing, and initial walk into his new home where he is to be locked up for 15 years -- seemingly forever.
His first impressions are about the small details of his prison life, one of "long days and nights of chloride, of lime, [and] the carbonized atmosphere of jail."
In this era, there are no gangs, drugs, or rapes that have come to represent prison life in modern-day writings. This is a group of ordinary men who live an incredibly restricted existence of silence, punishment, and complete lack of opportunities to make any choices whatsoever: food, activities, conversations, clothes, hair, exercise, etc. It is this lack of self-direction that weighs the heaviest on them.
Of course, there are shocking occurrences related by Lowrie, including the punishment of wearing a special strait-jacket that trusses up the entire body from head to foot like a mummy. The man being punished is left for hours and sometimes even days encased in this jacket without the ability to move anything. It's a punishment that did drive men to insanity -- all for a small prison infraction. Lowrie calmly, intelligently details the bad food, riots, and other run-ins with guards and wardens. He also describes the silence that occurs in the evening before a court-decreed execution, and the policy where the dead man's clothes, if fairly new, are reassigned to a new prisoner, an action that disgusts Lowrie:
My Life in Prison is a challenging book which exposes readers to the realities of people experiencing prison life. It can be shocking, but overall there are never gratuitous descriptions of violence or horrors. Lowrie tells what he sees and hears, honestly, compassionately, and often sadly. That is all, and that is good enough for me. I loved it.
While you may not be immediately attracted to this subject, let me tell you these memoirs have all the elements in spades for great reads: interesting characters, unusual plot, and high-quality writing. These books prove that, in the hands of an observant, sensitive, and skilled writer, any topic can be gripping and moving to read. To avoid them is to miss an opportunity to see a world and its inhabitants invisible to most people but, of course, well-known to criminals.
One of the best historical prison memoirs, in my opinion, is My Life in Prison by Donald Lowrie. In the early 1900s, Lowrie, ravenously hungry, steals a watch and purse (together worth about $100), is apprehended and sentenced to the maximum 15 years in San Quentin prison. Sentences were meant to be punitive in those days, as was every minute of the time spent behind bars.
Through his careful descriptions, readers immediately recognize that Lowrie, the narrator, is neither a low-life habitual criminal nor a violent, evil man. His words, descriptions, and reasoning shows an intelligent, sensitive observer of the men around him, his world of incarceration, and of himself. Step by step he calmly describes his short trial, sentencing, and initial walk into his new home where he is to be locked up for 15 years -- seemingly forever.
His first impressions are about the small details of his prison life, one of "long days and nights of chloride, of lime, [and] the carbonized atmosphere of jail."
Disinfectants are typical of jail; they are responsible for the "jail smell"; they are the mute apologies for a paucity of soap and water and the absence of God's sunshine....Jail atmosphere is always several degrees lower than that of the outside world -- it is always cellar-like.He describes the men he lives with who have committed minor as well as major crimes. Through their conversations and Lowrie's thoughts, these men do not appear as animals with untamed violence that must be treated with harsh means. These are men, like Lowrie, who faced challenges in their lives and responded quickly to steal, break, or harm something or someone. And they have been caught and given very long sentences as was the manner in those days. Their lives are now in the prison where they work in the jute mill, live in cells, and eat silently with others who also watch the days pass.
In this era, there are no gangs, drugs, or rapes that have come to represent prison life in modern-day writings. This is a group of ordinary men who live an incredibly restricted existence of silence, punishment, and complete lack of opportunities to make any choices whatsoever: food, activities, conversations, clothes, hair, exercise, etc. It is this lack of self-direction that weighs the heaviest on them.
Of course, there are shocking occurrences related by Lowrie, including the punishment of wearing a special strait-jacket that trusses up the entire body from head to foot like a mummy. The man being punished is left for hours and sometimes even days encased in this jacket without the ability to move anything. It's a punishment that did drive men to insanity -- all for a small prison infraction. Lowrie calmly, intelligently details the bad food, riots, and other run-ins with guards and wardens. He also describes the silence that occurs in the evening before a court-decreed execution, and the policy where the dead man's clothes, if fairly new, are reassigned to a new prisoner, an action that disgusts Lowrie:
There was something unspeakably horrible about it. You smile! ... How would you like to be compelled to wear such clothing? How would you like to have your son, or brother, or father compelled to wear it?What there is in these pages are friendships, stories of previous lives both in and out of prisons, and the sad and (sometimes) lighter daily life of these people that make this memoir so deeply affecting. The power of this book is the careful observations and conversations with inmates, guards, and the warden. Lowrie reveals their individual strengths and weaknesses, as well as their fears and sorrows.
My Life in Prison is a challenging book which exposes readers to the realities of people experiencing prison life. It can be shocking, but overall there are never gratuitous descriptions of violence or horrors. Lowrie tells what he sees and hears, honestly, compassionately, and often sadly. That is all, and that is good enough for me. I loved it.
[Spoiler alert: In Lowrie's second book, My Life Out of Prison, we learn he was paroled after serving 10 years in San Quentin. In this second book, he describes his struggles with adapting to the outside world and his eventual success creating a position where he can assist former prisoners adapt to the outside world. He becomes a renown prison reform speaker and advocate for prisoners' rights. Equally well-written it is definitely worth reading as a follow-up to Lowrie's fascinating life and work.]
If this book interests you, be sure to check out:
Lowrie, Donald. My Life Out of Prison
Followup to My Life in Prison that details Lowrie's life after being released, working and lecturing for prison reform. An excellent read about a fascinating life and commitment to change.
Number 1500. Life in Sing-Sing
A man voluntarily goes undercover and is committed to Sing-Sing prison in the early 1900s to reveal what life behind bars is really like. Fantastic glimpse into early prison life and the men who populate and oversee these prisons.
Bates, Laura. Shakespeare Saved My Life
Modern, true account of an English teacher who works with prisoners who have lived long terms in solitary confinement. Together, she and the prisoners discuss passages and plays from their cells that prevent them from seeing either the teacher or the others in their own cells. Riveting. (Previously reviewed here.)
Reporter Earley spent almost two years interviewing prisoners deemed the most dangerous and incarcerate to long terms in the worst federal prison in the US. Similarity in revelations with My Life in Prison, but this shows a contemporary prison of 1987-1989 with deplorable conditions and prisoners much more violent and hardened than Lowrie or Number 1500 portrayed.
Denfeld, Rene The Enchanted
The "enchanted place" is a prison where the unnamed author writes from his death row cell. This fictionalized tale of life without names, without hope, with difficult lives and motivations, is sad, tragic, and anonymous. Yet there is a possible future through a woman and a priest who work with these men to have their cases re-examined and possibly change their sentencing. But not every prisoner, as we find out, want to stay his execution.
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