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A collection of remarkable literary writings that illuminate a world of loss

More than two million persons are imprisoned in the United States, which has the highest rate of incarceration, per capita, in the world. A certain number of them are talented writers, as Susan Nagelsen discovered in the years she taught writing courses in a penitentiary. She became interested in the motivation of incarcerated men and women to express themselves in literary forms, and she recognized the level of accomplishment that many achieved. This remarkable book grew from her dedication.

From contributions Nagelsen solicited from some one hundred imprisoned writers across the breadth of the United States, the work of ten men and four women— writers of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama—is represented in Exiled Voices, Portals of Discovery. Here is no collective protest of wrongful conviction and imprisonment but thoughtful, sometimes startling, creations by fourteen gifted writers about remembered youth, the world of nature, missed opportunities, enforced tedium, and the violence that lurks within prison walls. They touch deep wellsprings and illuminate a world of loss.

Robert Johnson, an authority on criminal justice, prisons, and imprisonment provides an introduction to the book with “Hard Time,”a probing and disturbing overview of the conditions and effectiveness of incarceration in the United States today.

From her interviews with the inmate/writers, Susan Nagelsen has written insightful introductions to each of them, and she offers a series of reflections—interspersed among the selections from their works—about such issues as education, medical care, and security affecting inmates and their loved ones.

Award-winning photographer Lou Jones, author of Final Exposure: Portraits from Death Row, returned inside intimidating prison walls to photograph the fourteen imprisoned writers whose work is published in Exiled Voices, Portals of Discovery.

The revealing literary work of the prisoners, the thought-provoking essay by Robert Johnson, the sensitive observations by Susan Nagelsen, and the striking portraits of Lou Jones comprise a groundbreaking vision of a world obscured behind high walls.

Exiled Voices introduces the diverse voices and talents of more than a dozen writers whose lives are lived behind bars. Theirs are voices that too often go unheard, unrecognized. This collection is brave, powerful, and a wake up call—we all must attend to each other as human beings and to the social and justice systems that too often seek to silence those who dare speak out.—A.M. Homes, author of The End of Alice, Music for Torching, and The Mistress’s Daughter

Exiled Voices: Portals of Discovery is a powerful book. This stunning collection of essays, poems and fiction written by prisoners should help us to focus attention not only on the talent of the artists but on the conditions of their confinement. Our lack of humanity and intelligence in our criminal justice system is a national disgrace—and a needlessly costly one—which finds its nadir in the conditions which prevail in many of our prisons. Exiled Voices should make its readers ashamed of what we are allowing to happen.—Nicholas de B. Katzenbach, Former Attorney General of the United States Co-chair, The Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons

SUSAN NAGELSEN is Professor of Special Education at New England College, Director of the Writing Program, and Associate Editor of Journal of Prisoners on Prisons. LOU JONES is a photographer and author of Final Exposure: Portraits from Death Row (1997, 2002). His work has been published in such journals as Time, Newsweek, and National Geographic and exhibited in the Corcoran Gallery, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Cooper Hewitt Museum. ROBERT JOHNSON is Professor of Justice, Law & Society at American University and author of Hard Time: Understanding and Reforming the Prison (2002) and Death Work: A Study of the Modern Execution Process (1998).

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