THE MAXIMUM SECURITY BOOK CLUB Reading Literature in a Men's Prison

Just a few years ago, English literature professor Brottman led a book discussion group at Baltimore's Jessup Correctional Institution. Narrator Beverley Crick recounts Brottman's observations of prison life, the reading group's members, correctional officers, and, especially, the discussions of nearly a dozen works taken up by the group. She clearly differentiates Brottman, who is British, as well as black and white men of various ages and personalities, and a few female guards. Brottman confronts her own blinkered assumptions about prisons, race, and the role of literature in life, adding another layer of insightful veracity. As a bonus, the book group's responses to such widely varying titles as MACBETH, Burroughs's JUNKIE, and Malcolm Braly's classic American prison novel, ON THE YARD, may inspire further exploration by the listener. F.M.R.G. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2016]