Overview

"Charles Donald Lowrie (1875-1925) left his Massachusetts home as a young man and hopscotched westward working as a stenographer, construction camp timekeeper, bookkeeper, railroad laborer, and traveling salesman before finding himself in Los Angeles starving and broke save for a vandalized nickel in his pocket - a nickel that would decide his fate: ""heads"" meant crime, ""tails"" meant suicide. What he couldn't know as he flipped that coin was that fate would soon deliver a 15-year ""jolt"" in San Quentin State Prison and a wildly unique literary career. Pursuing his burgeoning authorial ambitions by lamplight in his prison cell, Lowrie's work caught the eye of a San Francisco newspaper editor who assisted with his gaining parole after ten years. The editor immediately put him to work and My Life in Prison was birthed to overnight success, kickstarting the American prison literature genre and instigating nationwide prison reforms still in effect today. We Heathens have striven to enhance the text that you're about to experience as much as possible, with the first enhancement being the inclusion of Donald Lowrie's original San Quentin mugshots. We have also corrected myriad spelling and punctuation errors, in addition to updating a few archaic and hyphenated words to reflect their modern usage. Additionally, we have added some 250 footnotes with further corrections and to supplement the text with context, clarification, and commentary as needed. We've also added section breaks in some of the chapters to help with Lowrie's sometimes jarring tendency to switch topics without warning. We were also able to locate several photos of San Quentin approximate to the period of Lowrie's incarceration, circa 1890s-1910s, which we have included where appropriate. And, in addition to Lowrie's mugshots, we were able to locate nearly two dozen more mugshots of inmates who populate this story, which we have placed where they seem most appropriate within the text."

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9781948316224

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Reviews

Then in 1912 appeared a very influential work-Donald Lowrie's first book, My Life in Prison. -H. Bruce Franklin, Prison Literature in America When Donald Lowrie finished the last chapter of My Life in Prison it seemed fairly certain that ... a notable book had been accomplished, fully justifying the sensational success it achieved overnight. -The New York Times Book Review Written so simply yet with such power and such complete and evident sincerity. -Thomas Mott Osborne, Within Prison Walls Some works boil down to, 'I'm here because of my social class, ' a category tellingly defined by Donald Lowrie's 1912 classic, My Life in Prison, which presaged some of the writings of the black radicals of the 1960s and 70s. -Ralph Blumenthal, The New York Times Donald Lowrie, whose writings did for American prisons what John Howard's did for those of England. -Jack Black, You Can't Win His first contribution consisted of an installment of his studies, My Life in Prison. At once he attracted attention. As he went from day to day the interest grew. In two weeks he was the sensation of San Francisco. In the street cars, on the ferries, in trains, everywhere in public, people were eagerly reading Donald Lowrie, and discussing his revelations. The work revealed fine observation and dramatic power. As it went from week to week without a break, the marvel grew. Here was a new writer that could publish an interesting article each day for six days in the week. In a few weeks Donald Lowrie printed more than one hundred thousand words. The success of the articles made Donald Lowrie a notable figure not only in San Francisco but throughout California. -John D. Barry, The American Magazine My Life in Prison by Donald Lowrie, a book which greatly accelerated the movement for prison reform. -Bruce Bliven, The New Republic Others have lifted, with more or less success, the gloomy pall from prison life - Dickens, Reade, Galsworthy, Hopper, Bechdolt in '9009, ' Oscar Wilde in the haunting horror of 'The Ballad of Reading Gaol, ' but, except in the case of Wilde's immortal poem, it has been a stranger to its miseries who has hitherto attempted to describe what actually takes place from day to day in the dark house where the State undertakes to punish crime. Donald Lowrie's story is thus unique in the literature of criminology. -The New York Times But we need not go so far afield as England or Australia, nor back to 1854 or 1870 for prison cruelties. Read Donald Lowrie's My Life in Prison and see what horrors were occurring in San Quentin prison up to within a few years. -Thomas Mott Osborne, Society and Prisons Donald Lowrie shows us creatures extraordinarily like ourselves, living the abnormal life of a prison . . . He presents one man after another to us so clearly that we feel actually acquainted with them. -Mary Alden Hopkins, The Publishers' Weekly The book combines the intrinsic interest and the absolute convincingness of what is called a 'human document, ' with the intangible yet awakening influence of a message from a prophet-the kind of prophet who, having descended into hell and risen again, is able both to tell us the facts and feelings that make up the inferno and to point confidently and convertingly toward the blessed opening of a way out. -J.B. Kerfoot, Life Magazine

"""Then in 1912 appeared a very influential work-Donald Lowrie's first book, My Life in Prison."" -H. Bruce Franklin, Prison Literature in America ""When Donald Lowrie finished the last chapter of My Life in Prison it seemed fairly certain that ... a notable book had been accomplished, fully justifying the sensational success it achieved overnight."" -The New York Times Book Review ""Written so simply yet with such power and such complete and evident sincerity."" -Thomas Mott Osborne, Within Prison Walls ""Some works boil down to, 'I'm here because of my social class, ' a category tellingly defined by Donald Lowrie's 1912 classic, My Life in Prison, which presaged some of the writings of the black radicals of the 1960s and 70s."" -Ralph Blumenthal, The New York Times ""Donald Lowrie, whose writings did for American prisons what John Howard's did for those of England."" -Jack Black, You Can't Win ""His first contribution consisted of an installment of his studies, My Life in Prison. At once he attracted attention. As he went from day to day the interest grew. In two weeks he was the sensation of San Francisco. In the street cars, on the ferries, in trains, everywhere in public, people were eagerly reading Donald Lowrie, and discussing his revelations. The work revealed fine observation and dramatic power. As it went from week to week without a break, the marvel grew. Here was a new writer that could publish an interesting article each day for six days in the week. In a few weeks Donald Lowrie printed more than one hundred thousand words. The success of the articles made Donald Lowrie a notable figure not only in San Francisco but throughout California."" -John D. Barry, The American Magazine ""My Life in Prison by Donald Lowrie, a book which greatly accelerated the movement for prison reform."" -Bruce Bliven, The New Republic ""Others have lifted, with more or less success, the gloomy pall from prison life - Dickens, Reade, Galsworthy, Hopper, Bechdolt in '9009, ' Oscar Wilde in the haunting horror of 'The Ballad of Reading Gaol, ' but, except in the case of Wilde's immortal poem, it has been a stranger to its miseries who has hitherto attempted to describe what actually takes place from day to day in the dark house where the State undertakes to punish crime. Donald Lowrie's story is thus unique in the literature of criminology."" -The New York Times ""But we need not go so far afield as England or Australia, nor back to 1854 or 1870 for prison cruelties. Read Donald Lowrie's My Life in Prison and see what horrors were occurring in San Quentin prison up to within a few years."" -Thomas Mott Osborne, Society and Prisons ""Donald Lowrie shows us creatures extraordinarily like ourselves, living the abnormal life of a prison . . . He presents one man after another to us so clearly that we feel actually acquainted with them."" -Mary Alden Hopkins, The Publishers' Weekly ""The book combines the intrinsic interest and the absolute convincingness of what is called a 'human document, ' with the intangible yet awakening influence of a message from a prophet-the kind of prophet who, having descended into hell and risen again, is able both to tell us the facts and feelings that make up the inferno and to point confidently and convertingly toward the blessed opening of a way out."" -J.B. Kerfoot, Life Magazine"

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