correctional medical care: great works from behind bars

B O O K SB E H I N D

B A R SFamous authors and

the i r works penned whi lein pr i son .

W R I T I N G I N P R I S O N

We’ve wr i t ten in the pas t about poet ry and wr i t ing he lp ing inmatescope wi th the i r thoughts and fee l ings whi le beh ind bars . Wr i t ing i s a

powerfu l in f luence in th i s way– i t can be a mechan i sm that a l l owsinmates to express the i r thoughts in a more product ive way .

Some of the l i t e rary wor ld ' s greates t works were penned (or d i c ta ted)f rom beh ind bars . Here are a few.

T H E T R A V E L S O F M A R C O P O L O

Written by Rustichello da Pisa and

dictated by Marco Polo during his

stay in a Genoa prison.

Details his travels around the

world, including China.

~1300

M A R C OP O L O

Photo: Biography.com

L E T T E R F R O M B I R M I N G H A M J A I L

Written by the immensely influential

leader of the Civil Rights movement

during his prison stay for protesting.

In the letter, he urged others to

continue their peaceful protests and

civil disobedience. 1963

M A R T I NL U T H E RK I N G J R .


D E P R O F U N D I S

Imprisoned on counts of indecency

with another man, Wilde wrote a

long letter to his former lover Lord

Alfred Douglas. It was published

after his death in 1905.

1905 (written around 1899)

O S C A RW I L D E


L E T T E R S F R O M" C O N V E R S A T I O N S W I T H

M Y S E L F "

Mandela, a leader in the fight

against apartheid in South Africa

was convicted of conspiracy and

sentenced to prison. While there, he

wrote numerous letters, later

reproduced in the book

"Conversations with Myself."1969

N E L S O NM A N D E L A


D O N Q U I X O T E

One of the first great European

novels, Don Quixote became one of

the most influential and highly

studied works of the 17th century.

Cervantes wrote the work while

spending time in prison for debt.1605

M I G U E L D EC E R V A N T E S


T H E P R I N C E

One of the first works of modern

philosophy, The Prince discusses the

ideas and philosophies of politics,

and power, and gives advice to

those in positions of power.

1605

N I C C O L O M A C H I A V E L L I


correctional medical care: great works from behind bars

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