Once You're Inside: Poems Exploring Incarceration

Once You're Inside is a poetry collection that details Ann Bracken's volunteer experiences working in prison-based writing programs. Before she volunteered, Bracken was like many people who had no idea who prisoners really were—men and women with lives and families, hopes and dreams. While statistics and data tell a large part of the incarceration story, Bracken knew that poetry could capture voices and experiences in a visceral way that might move people to read more and to work for change. The incarcerated men and women Bracken met hungered for knowledge, yet their educations were halted at the GED level. And many of them, like Ryan, had spent half their lives in prison. "I came here when I was 15. I'm 40 now." Ryan confessed, "I was misguided, and I had no sense of self-worth." And saddest of all, one of the women told her, "You're the first new person we've seen in seven years." The poems in Once You're Inside will introduce you to memorable characters living in impossibly tragic conditions. People who are working to contribute to society in positive ways, if only someone would give them a chance.