Running the Books: the Adventures of an Accidental Prison Librarian
Running the Books is Avi Steinberg's memoir of his two years as a librarian at Boston's South Bay prison. During his time there, he teaches creative writing classes, befriends inmates, starts feuds with corrections officers, and discovers countless "kites" — messages between inmates hidden within the pages of library books.
The stories Steinberg tells are a mixture of grit and whimsy; the harsh realities of prison life rub up against the tragic and heartwarming, often in the same scenes.
Quote:
"Starting from my first week in prison, I'd noticed the phenomenon, though I wasn't sure what it was. As I walked through the prison yard, I'd spied male inmates standing at their barred windows, furiously signaling skyward. I followed the invisible trajectory of these messages and found their recipients standing in barred windows way up in the Tower — the women inmates. Through the silent darkness of the prison night, there were at least five conversations soaring back and forth."
Author:
Avi Steinberg was born in Jerusalem and grew up in Boston and Cleveland. Running the Books is his first book.
Published: 2010
Length: 393 pages
Set in: Boston, Massachusetts, United States