Burnt Offerings is a book of original poems by a distinguished criminologist that takes the reader on what one prisoner called "an elegiac journey from crime to arrest to confession to trial and ultimately to prison" (Charles Huckelbury, State Prison for Men, Concord, New Hampshire). "Like a surgeon, "states Erin George, a woman serving time in Fluvanna, a Virginia prison, "Johnson deftly exposes the sepsis that is the penal system of our ostensibly progressive society." And like nothing before it, Burnt Offerings opens "a window onto an alien, forbidding landscape... We are brought into the world of concertina wire and steel, the world of broken men and women longing for human touch and kindness with such power that we are forced to see and feel what Americans have chosen to ignore far too long: we are warehousing humans behind those walls... Burnt Offerings will not be forgotten" (Susan Nagelsen, Professor of Writing, New England College).

Burnt Offerings: Poems on Crime and Punishment

Literature & Fiction

Robert Johnson

Poetry

Bleakhouse Publishing

We have found our modern day Chaucer in the hands of the poet Charles Huckelbury. Here "the baddest bouncer in the / baddest bar" - Little David, part medieval knight, part "Jesse goddamn James," part "Leonidas before the Persians" - narrates a series of tales that will leave you laughing and weeping at the spectacle of humanity in all its guises, from bikers to castaways, from strippers to real estate salesmen, from queens to dope fiends. Huckelbury finds poetry in the most surprising of places, and ultimately reminds us how the ache of loss keeps us searching for beauty and meaning.

Tales from the Purple Penguin

Huckelbury, Charles

Erin George's Origami Heart: Poems by a Woman Doing Life, is intimate, courageous, and lyrical. The "woman doing life" in Erin George's stunning first collection is at once a prisoner serving a life sentence and a woman continuing to weave the complex web of severed and ongoing relations that is her life. From the opening, title poem, wrenching in its restraint, George locates the true horror of imprisonment in a mother's separation from her children. As she folds and unfolds the "origami heart" of her daughter's much-read letter, the connection between them, like the creases in the paper, is "soft, threatening severance, / but still holding." Through these poems of memory and longing, Erin George struggles to hold on.

Origami Heart: Poems by a Woman Doing Life

Humor & Entertainment

George, Erin

Radio

In 'A Zoo Near You', Robert Johnson proposes a system that acknowledges the intrinsic humanity and potential in all people, including our worst prisoners. Johnson does not ignore the reality of brutal crimes. Yet, his entire book is a testament to the horrific results of fighting crime with dehumanization and repression. He challenges us to look beyond retribution and cultivate the humanity in those whom we seek to condemn. As we consider this challenge, we must confront one central decision that is best encapsulated in his closing poem: "Reconciliation or revenge? On this choice, our future may hinge."

A Zoo Near You: Poetry

Johnson,Robert

BOOK DESCRIPTION  In this enthralling book of poetry, Shirin Karimi explores suffering and loss among the ill and imprisoned, bringing us, in the words of poet Martha Donovan, author of Dress Her in Silk, “to the heart of what it means to be human: in the face of adversity we can either be crushed by the weight of our lives or we can become, if only for a moment, ‘Weightless, like astronauts or angels.’ With wisdom and compassion beyond her years, Karimi shows us, with aching beauty, the resiliency of the human spirit in times of great loss.” REVIEWS “Shirin Karimi’s poems―so spare, direct, and passionate―dare to imagine the lives of those from whom others too often turn away, those who are ill and those who are confined, caught within the enclosures of hospitals and prisons. Speaking through the voices of the dispossessed, Karimi’s poems extend the boundaries of what we understand and who we imagine ourselves to be.” Richard McCann, author of Mother of Sorrows “Shirin Karimi is a brave new voice in medical poetry. She is unafraid to peer into the dark corners of the human soul; and she demands that we follow her gaze when we otherwise might choose to avert our eyes. A doctor-poet in the making.” Christine Montross, author of Body of Work: Meditations on Mortality from the Anatomy Lab “Enclosures is a work of uncommon grace and beauty. Shirin Karimi brings a warm heart and a sharp mind to bear on life’s awful limits and inspiring possibilities. Her words resonate with images of love, loss, and enduring hope, lingering in the mind, hauntingly, long after the cover is closed.” Robert Johnson, Editor, BleakHouse Publishing

Enclosures: Reflections from the Prison Cell and the Hospital Bed; Poetry by Shirin Karimi

Karimi, Shirin

The short stories, poems, and photographs featured in the Spring 2011 edition of Tacenda Literary Magazine contribute another layer to our understanding of the multifaceted world of crime and punishment. By offering unique and contemplative insights into the justice system, the works featured here both educate and illuminate the public on the dark corners of our society that we ignore at our peril.

Tacenda Literary Magazine

Charles Huckelbury transcends the bounds of his confinement in Distant Thunder, illuminating the darkest corners of the human condition. In poignant verse etched in delicate detail, Huckelbury exposes the depths of despair and the miracle of enduring hope.

Distant Thunder

"Cell Buddy truly is a beautiful story, even without the unexpected twists or surprises. The combination of humor and pathos makes this narrative a classic of its kind." Hans Toch, Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Criminal Justice, State University of New York at Albany, author of Living in Prison.

Cell Buddy

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

We don't often think about the sheer and agonizing loneliness experienced in prisons for women. Even less do we realize that the damaged women we relegate to prison are also confined by the abuses that have shaped and often warped their lives. From the emotional prisons these women carry within, we learn in Cell Buddy: The Story &amp; The Play, there is no escape. Ellen W. Kaplan, Director of Theatre and Professor of Acting and Directing, Smith College, and author of several plays, as well as the text, Images of Mental Illness in Text and Performance.

Cell Buddy: The Story and Two Stage Adaptations

The works featured in the 2012 edition of Tacenda Literary Magazine contribute to a nuanced understanding of the multifaceted world of crime and punishment, providing a literary window onto a world of hurt and loss and enduring hope that is too often hidden from view.

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Bleakhouse Publishing publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Bleakhouse Publishing

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Bleakhouse Publishing publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Burnt Offerings: Poems on Crime and Punishment

Tales from the Purple Penguin

Origami Heart: Poems by a Woman Doing Life

A Zoo Near You: Poetry

Enclosures: Reflections from the Prison Cell and the Hospital Bed; Poetry by Shirin Karimi

Tacenda Literary Magazine

Distant Thunder

Cell Buddy

Cell Buddy: The Story and Two Stage Adaptations

Tacenda Literary Magazine