"I wouldn't have made it this far without books. In prison, reading is not so much a means of escape as a survival mechanism. Books become tools of diverse purpose within the penitentiary; not only do they combat loneliness, but they are also barriers against isolation. Books will build you up more effectively than any time spent in the yard's weight pit, and the information they impart will protect you far better than a sharpened shiv."
—Lee Doane, as quoted by Victoria Law in "Books Through Bars: Stories From the Prison Books Movement"
Here's a recent photo we snapped of abolitionist titles being modified before being mailed to an individual incarcerated in the Southeast. Because the facility doesn't allow hardbacks, we were asked to strip the covers, which we did as carefully as we could to avoid damaging the integrity of the book spine.
Prisons take a hostile view of even the smallest forms of care and solidarity expressed for those under their control. They outright ban tens of thousands of titles, only allow books from approved retailers (or *only* Amazon), regularly delay delivery by weeks, and, increasingly, want to restrict physical books entirely, forcing prisoners to access e-books. Banning physical books is a way to further squeeze profits out of prisoners while undermining both solidarity from outside and mutual aid within facilities.
Want to make a difference and learn how people are fighting back against prison book bans? You can join Asheville Prison Books today at 1pm for a packaging party at our co-op!
#Abolitionism #FreeThemAll #BookBan #FireToThePrisons #PrisonBookBan #FeministBookstore #FirestormCoop (- L)
