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veraann's review
4.0
I picked this up due to the Overdrive Big Library read.
I found the book to be very interesting. The effect Shakespeare had on the inmates and in turn the effect that had on Laura. Also the effect that would have on how she taught the bard to her other students.
There were sections of the book that she kind of ended on an abrupt note, and jumped around a bit so sometimes the flow wasn't great. I still think it was worth the read and effort of thought of how we look at works like Shakespeare, how we think about the prison system and possibly even our own values and personal prisons.
Even if , like me, you are a person that on the rare occasion will pick up a non-fiction to read, this is one I would recommend.
I found the book to be very interesting. The effect Shakespeare had on the inmates and in turn the effect that had on Laura. Also the effect that would have on how she taught the bard to her other students.
There were sections of the book that she kind of ended on an abrupt note, and jumped around a bit so sometimes the flow wasn't great. I still think it was worth the read and effort of thought of how we look at works like Shakespeare, how we think about the prison system and possibly even our own values and personal prisons.
Even if , like me, you are a person that on the rare occasion will pick up a non-fiction to read, this is one I would recommend.
chuskeyreads's review
4.0
Laura Bates, an English professor at Indiana State University, recounts her 'volunteer' job teaching Shakespeare to maximum security prisoners and the life-changing impact the experience had not just on her life, but that of Larry Newton.
Laura Bates recounts:
In the twenty years I had spent working as a volunteer and as an instructor in minimum- and maximum-security prisons in Chicago and in Indiana, I had never met an inmate who scared me—until Newton.
Larry Newton - who later becomes her star student - was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole when he was seventeen. Because of his violent tendencies, Newton spent over 10 years in solitary confinement. The most amazing part of his story is that regardless of having only a fifth grade education, Newton develops his intellect and a love of Shakespeare.
“Hey, you know what’s really cool? Here’s old boy Richard in this supermax, and he’s building a world inside of there with his thoughts. He’s trying to make his life mean something. And then here I am—it’s really cool how they mirror!—here I am, in that same little prison, trying to make my life mean something.”
Shakespeare was one of my favorite things to teach. Of the required plays to teach in high school, I think I ended up teaching Macbeth the most. My students had the occasional "WOW!" moment with the text, but nothing like the insights expressed by some of these inmates, especially Newton. But the inmates viewed the play from a different perspective than my students - that of killers.
Newton's response to Macbeth murdering the king:
The authenticity of a murderer: WOW! That is insight! The fear and confusion, the anxiety! Even if the author has not killed, he must have been exposed to that possibility. Like attempted or was at the point of trying but could not overcome those fears and great anxiety! As Mac killed Duncan, he was just in la la land! Even forgetting to leave the weapon! Man, that is just so authentic! The detail in fears, confusion, and gut-wrenching anxiety is uncanny! I regret to say that I have experience.
This was the passage that gave me chills. I spent quite a bit of time discussing this very passage with class after class, but very few understood why Macbeth forgot to plant the dagger on the guards. I knew that Shakespeare had this uncanny ability to capture the human condition (which is why his plays still resonate with us 400 years later), but this passage clinched it for me.
After spending more than ten years in supermax segregation, Larry finally has broken out of his prison. Not the prison of concrete and steel, but the prison of self-destructive ways of thinking: “the only prison that matters.”
I wasn't sure how I would feel about this book because it's not the type of nonfiction I usually choose. Sometimes you just need to get it of your own way - glad I did.
Laura Bates recounts:
In the twenty years I had spent working as a volunteer and as an instructor in minimum- and maximum-security prisons in Chicago and in Indiana, I had never met an inmate who scared me—until Newton.
Larry Newton - who later becomes her star student - was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole when he was seventeen. Because of his violent tendencies, Newton spent over 10 years in solitary confinement. The most amazing part of his story is that regardless of having only a fifth grade education, Newton develops his intellect and a love of Shakespeare.
“Hey, you know what’s really cool? Here’s old boy Richard in this supermax, and he’s building a world inside of there with his thoughts. He’s trying to make his life mean something. And then here I am—it’s really cool how they mirror!—here I am, in that same little prison, trying to make my life mean something.”
Shakespeare was one of my favorite things to teach. Of the required plays to teach in high school, I think I ended up teaching Macbeth the most. My students had the occasional "WOW!" moment with the text, but nothing like the insights expressed by some of these inmates, especially Newton. But the inmates viewed the play from a different perspective than my students - that of killers.
Newton's response to Macbeth murdering the king:
The authenticity of a murderer: WOW! That is insight! The fear and confusion, the anxiety! Even if the author has not killed, he must have been exposed to that possibility. Like attempted or was at the point of trying but could not overcome those fears and great anxiety! As Mac killed Duncan, he was just in la la land! Even forgetting to leave the weapon! Man, that is just so authentic! The detail in fears, confusion, and gut-wrenching anxiety is uncanny! I regret to say that I have experience.
This was the passage that gave me chills. I spent quite a bit of time discussing this very passage with class after class, but very few understood why Macbeth forgot to plant the dagger on the guards. I knew that Shakespeare had this uncanny ability to capture the human condition (which is why his plays still resonate with us 400 years later), but this passage clinched it for me.
After spending more than ten years in supermax segregation, Larry finally has broken out of his prison. Not the prison of concrete and steel, but the prison of self-destructive ways of thinking: “the only prison that matters.”
I wasn't sure how I would feel about this book because it's not the type of nonfiction I usually choose. Sometimes you just need to get it of your own way - glad I did.
alidottie's review
4.0
This is the book chosen to be the Global eRead. Anyone should be able to check out a digital copy from their library (if they are participating).
This book has an obvious agenda and I am okay with that since she is completely transparent in her defense for education in the prison system. I found the information shared interesting. I loved how the prisoners--of course!--brought their own perspective to Shakespeare's plays.
Confession: I have not read (or been inspired to read) much Shakespeare, but this book made me curious. What would I see if I read and studied the words of the Bard and interpreted what I was reading through the eyes of my life experiences?
This book has an obvious agenda and I am okay with that since she is completely transparent in her defense for education in the prison system. I found the information shared interesting. I loved how the prisoners--of course!--brought their own perspective to Shakespeare's plays.
Confession: I have not read (or been inspired to read) much Shakespeare, but this book made me curious. What would I see if I read and studied the words of the Bard and interpreted what I was reading through the eyes of my life experiences?
wrentheblurry's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars.
Dr. Laura Bates tells the story of how she began teaching Shakespeare to inmates at high security prisons. In particular, the focus is on Larry Newton, who strongly takes to Shakespeare, and feels the experience changed his life. Hearing his story was the best part of this book for me. At times it felt a little disjointed, but overall a good read.
Dr. Laura Bates tells the story of how she began teaching Shakespeare to inmates at high security prisons. In particular, the focus is on Larry Newton, who strongly takes to Shakespeare, and feels the experience changed his life. Hearing his story was the best part of this book for me. At times it felt a little disjointed, but overall a good read.
cstaude's review
4.0
Started this book, got sidetracked, and finally finished it! I am very glad I did. The author is an English professor from Indiana who ran a Shakespeare program in the maximum security wing at the prison in Muncie. There she met Larry Newton and embarked on a phenomenal experience teaching Shakespeare to the him and the other inmates.
This book is fascinating in that it doesn't sugarcoat the situations that brought Larry to prison nor does it paint overly rosy pictures of what learning and reading can do for our lives.
A good read. The teacher in me loved it.
This book is fascinating in that it doesn't sugarcoat the situations that brought Larry to prison nor does it paint overly rosy pictures of what learning and reading can do for our lives.
A good read. The teacher in me loved it.
sparklelys's review
A good read, but it would have been a better book at about 75% of its total length.
erincataldi's review
4.0
Even though this book was really disorganized and jumped around, I really thoroughly enjoyed it. It wasn't so much a memoir, as much as it was a story about a maximum security inmate whose life changed by attending a Shakespeare program in prison. Laura Bates, a college professor, started going to a maximum security facility in Indiana and teaching Shakespeare to inmates in solitary. She discovered that they responded really well to reading and analyzing the Bards work. One inmate in particular, Larry Newton, provided insight and analysis that was almost better than top scholars in the field. With no access to spark notes, foot notes, or scholarly opinions, he started formulating his own. He had nothing but time on his hands and really dug deep into the meanings behind everything, and this is from a killer who never completed middle school. Through her work with the inmates and their eagerness and excitement to learn, both parties end up changing for the better. A feel good read that makes you think twice about felons capacity for change.
hotmessmamareads's review against another edition
3.0
This was an insightful read about on the rehabilitation of supermax prison inmates through the reading of Shakespeare's plays. It narrows its focus on the Shakespeare professor (Laura Bates)'s experience teaching Shakespeare to prisoners, and in particular, delves deeply into the relationship her pupil, Larry Newton, develops with the work of the Bard.
As an English major who studied the works of Shakespeare and as a long time fan of seeing the plays performed on stage, I don't know what compelled me to pick this one up. I found the idea intriguing of educating prisoners with this kind of academically rigorous programming. Personally, I recall struggling to make sense of some of the plays, some of the language. I remember how long it would take me to read one play (and we needed to read one a week) and yet I was surprised to find that some of the insights her students never would have crossed my mind. I never thought to approach the work in the ways they have. Instead, I mined the works of scholars and read over the hundreds of tiny print footnotes at the bottom of every page in my enormous Complete Works of William Shakespeare. But I never, not once, used the Bard's words as a way to examine my own life, and my own motivations.
Larry Newton, a man convicted of murder and serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole, challenged all the stereotypes I carried in my head about prisoners. His experience is a testament to the power of Shakespeare's work and that of equipping all people, including the incarcerated, with education. Though I realize education--much like religion--may not impact everyone to the degree in which it inspired change for Newton, I think it can be very hard to engage with something so intimately and not walk away without having gained something valuable. Like those old TV commercials: the more you know...
Some of the questions posed by the book, including 'should prisoners have access to education' and 'if so, who should pay for it' really invite opportunities for further reader engagement. I don't have any hard and fast answers, but I certainly find the question interesting! Guess you'll have to decide for yourself.
As a cool sidenote: I did recognize the name of one of my own university professors in this book, and I was really excited to see that she's done some work within this field as well. I may go on to read her book someday, too.
As an English major who studied the works of Shakespeare and as a long time fan of seeing the plays performed on stage, I don't know what compelled me to pick this one up. I found the idea intriguing of educating prisoners with this kind of academically rigorous programming. Personally, I recall struggling to make sense of some of the plays, some of the language. I remember how long it would take me to read one play (and we needed to read one a week) and yet I was surprised to find that some of the insights her students never would have crossed my mind. I never thought to approach the work in the ways they have. Instead, I mined the works of scholars and read over the hundreds of tiny print footnotes at the bottom of every page in my enormous Complete Works of William Shakespeare. But I never, not once, used the Bard's words as a way to examine my own life, and my own motivations.
Larry Newton, a man convicted of murder and serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole, challenged all the stereotypes I carried in my head about prisoners. His experience is a testament to the power of Shakespeare's work and that of equipping all people, including the incarcerated, with education. Though I realize education--much like religion--may not impact everyone to the degree in which it inspired change for Newton, I think it can be very hard to engage with something so intimately and not walk away without having gained something valuable. Like those old TV commercials: the more you know...
Some of the questions posed by the book, including 'should prisoners have access to education' and 'if so, who should pay for it' really invite opportunities for further reader engagement. I don't have any hard and fast answers, but I certainly find the question interesting! Guess you'll have to decide for yourself.
As a cool sidenote: I did recognize the name of one of my own university professors in this book, and I was really excited to see that she's done some work within this field as well. I may go on to read her book someday, too.