Overview

"Once You're Inside is a poetry collection that details Ann Bracken's volunteer experiences working in prison-based writing programs. Prison had been the last place on her mind when she thought about volunteering. Why would she want to work with those people--drug dealers and gang members? But after a few visits, she was so impressed with the men's keen insights, humility, and passion for learning, that she volunteered regularly for three years in two Maryland prisons. Her friends and family were concerned for her safety every time she went back. ""The incarcerated people are not who you think they are,"" she assured them. The men and women Bracken met hungered to learn, yet most of their educations were halted at the GED level. And many of them, like Vincent, had grown up in foster care and spent half their lives in prison. Another man, Ryan, told her, ""I came here when I was 15. I'm 40 now."" But the most heartbreaking line that Bracken heard was this from one of the women: ""You're the first new person we've seen in seven years."" The poems in Once You're Inside will introduce readers to memorable characters living in harsh and inhumane conditions. People who are willing to contribute to their communities in positive ways, if only someone would give them a chance."

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Reviews

Bracken has done more than written fine poetry. She has spoken for social justice eloquently; and, through her art, shows the plight of the incarcerated. Although there are prose pieces we find often that place light on the imprisoned, Bracken's poetry compresses the truth to a sharpness that penetrates the heart. Grace Cavalieri, Poet Laureate of Maryland Hope is on hold inside these walls, tucked into a corner when these doors groan closed, and yet Bracken's poems are like the marigolds by the prison path, brown tinges of decay on their leaves, but still struggling towards the light. Brian Daldorph, Senior Lecturer in English, University of Kansas I am able to hear the environment of the prison building as I read one transcript after another of the despair, horror, and hope. There should be a Nobel Prize for going into the dark with others who live there on a permanent basis. But your writing proves dark is a state of mind. Thank you for your beautiful work. P. Tronolone

Author Information

Ann Bracken has published three poetry collections, The Altar of Innocence, No Barking in the Hallways: Poems from the Classroom and Once You're Inside: Poetry Exploring Incarceration. She serves as a contributing editor for Little Patuxent Review, and co-facilitates the Wilde Readings Poetry Series in Columbia, Maryland. She volunteers as a correspondent for the Justice Arts Coalition, exchanging letters with incarcerated people to foster their use of the arts. Her poetry, essays, and interviews have appeared in numerous anthologies and journals, her work has been featured on Best American Poetry, and she's been a guest on Grace Cavalieri's The Poet and The Poem radio show. Her advocacy work promotes using the arts to foster paradigm change in the areas of emotional wellness, education, and prison abolition.

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