Behind Bars, Beneath Covers

    Walking Through Fed Med’s tunnels, hallways, and dorms, I’ve overheard snippets of questions

ranging from "what’s for chow”, “why did he go to the SHU?” “Have you checked out the new

female C.O. working the T…. damn?" “How many stamps do you want for them cinnamon

rolls? “When are you getting out?" All of these, I imagine, are what you hear at most

institutions. Other questions, though, are “have you read anything by him? Man, that guy can

write!" and "do you know anyone who has book #6 of that series? I gotta know what happens!”

These might seem like aberrations for the non-incarcerated, as out of place as palm trees in

Minnesota.

    For long time residents, these questions are pedestrian, part of the fabric of prison life.

Upon arrival at USMCFP Springfield, or any Bureau of Prisons facility, your first piece of reading

material is the “Inmate Admissions and Orientation Handbook”, given to you by a visibly burnt-

out counselor who’s handed the same booklet to thousands. All of it is boring but important,

especially for those alien to the B.O.P. For a bureau veteran, transfer, probation violator, or

repeat offender, most of it is boiler-plate copy from other institutions. As the days, weeks, and

months of my stay passed, I discovered that segments of the handbook’s contents were

outdated, inconsistently applied or ignored by staff. Not surprisingly, many chronic law

breakers don’t follow the rules, policies, procedures and responsibilities laid out for them in the

60 some page packet. Still, most stow it in the corner of their locker, pulling out its dust-

covered pages to fight disciplinary write-ups, or shots and to back up their complaint forms,

known as BP-8s. For both the staff and the incarcerated, the handbook’s contents can be a

guide, a hindrance, suggestion, a weapon or a shield.

    Part of the handbook features a section with the heading, “Recreation Programs.”

It states, “a wide variety of recreation programs are offered year-round for the enjoyment of

our inmate population. You will find both active and sedentary activities to meet your needs.”

Below, among a bulleted list, it mentions “leisure/reading library-daily newspapers/ monthly

magazines.” The current leisure library sits in the indoor rec area, a 15 x 20-foot space

separated from the adjacent library by a row of seven foot high bookshelves dating from 1990.

Three years prior, the leisure library inhabited a space twice its current dimensions at the back

of the indoor rec area. Guys could walk around the space, peruse selections at their leisure and

read at tables. A prior warden decided to switch the hobby craft room and library because he

didn’t want men to store arts and crafts on their unit and instead mandated it all stowed away

in totes in indoor recreation. The result for the library was a cluttered room with a circulation

cut in half. Shelves are packed with books that survived the great culling of 2020. Their tops are

stacked two to three feet high with hardcovers and softcovers. An outdated globe featuring

Zaire and the U.S.S.R., and a united Sudan stands watch in the corner.

    Overseeing this jumble of works, a staff of three library clerks operate the library morning,

afternoon, and evening. To check out a book, you have to rely on giant blue binders containing

titles and authors of selections; however, these catalogs are out of date as new titles are

donated and tattered copies are ditched. Currently, there is no computer to update the

database. Fortunately, the three librarians, all veterans, have intimate knowledge of the

circulation’s current offerings and can field most queries. Joe Suggs, one of the librarians, states

the new locale and system has had its pros and cons. While being able to pull out books

allowed readers to scan synopsis on book jackets and covers before checking them out, this

caused books to become out of order (The library uses the Dewey Decimal System). The

enclosed system gives librarians more assurance that coveted titles don’t walk off.

    Like other libraries, readers can check out books for two weeks and can renew titles for another

two weeks if needed. While all libraries experience unreturned titles, Suggs explained that

popular works, authors, and series often go MIA. Instead of turning them in, readers will

circulate them to others on their floor or store it away in the dark recesses of their locker. This

could be a vestige of COVID lockdown where titles were stored and circulated in a unit, a type

of underground library. Also, when the great downsizing happened a few years ago, several

guys sharing a Fahrenheit 451 scenario assumed a Guy Montague role and held on to titles

scheduled for the dumpster. Regardless of the motive, unrequited book borrowers have their

names turned into the education staff who give a firm reminder to return the missing or

pilfered item. There are no fines as a consequence, but habitual offenders are blacklisted from

future checkouts.

    The library also has a subscription to several magazines and newspapers. This includes The

Kansas City Star, the St. Louis Post Dispatch, USA Today, the Wall Street journal, US Weekly,

People, National Geographic, Forbes, and Rolling Stone. In addition, subscribers to other

magazines donate old issues, according to Suggs. (Side note: I am one of those donors.) Readers

can check out periodicals as well as reference books to read in recreation and have to turn

them back in before leaving or the library closing. Compared to books, periodical readership is

smaller with only a core group. Suggs attributes this dearth to a lack of knowledge. When

asked which authors draw a strong readership, Suggs mentioned Lee Child, CJ Box, Joe Pickett,

John Grisham, Stephen King, George R.Martin, Harlen Coben, James Patterson and David

Baldacci.

    These suspense, crime, thriller, fantasy, and supernatural writers transport readers from the

mundane routines and constrained milieus of incarcerated life to fast paced unpredictable,

expansive and fantastical worlds. They follow the lives of characters with lives of chaos,

violence, betrayal, trauma. Science fiction and fantasy works transport readers sitting or

lounging in banal abodes to magical idylls or dystopian hellscapes. They invest in the sagas of

figures who use sorcery, technological wonders, or supernatural wonders to combat

malevolent authoritarians or Machiavellian wizards. They covet the agency these beings

possess. Fiction can be a balm for the stress, a respite from the humdrum, and an anchor for

the unknown of the real. Jon R., incarcerated for four years, says that, through fiction, “I see

other people’s perspectives and grow emotionally.” As I mentioned in a prior blog, stories in

any medium resonate here.

    Besides the library, guys source books from other outlets. One is the inter-library loan program,

the ILL. Similar to outside libraries, patrons here can request titles, authors, and topics. Joe

Suggs, one of the library clerks explained that to participate, men have to take an hour-long

class via education. The class goes through procedures and rules with the program including

how to request, how long a book can be kept, and what condition they should be kept in. Suggs

says participants can submit two requests each Monday and estimates they received 10 to 15

requests each week. Not every request yields a return though. Suggs guesses about half of the

requests are fulfilled from at least four other libraries. With the culling of Fed Med’s

circulation, readers rely on the ILL more and more to sate their interests. Sometimes Fed Med’s

library might not have certain books in a series, and the ILL can fill in the gaps. The ILL also fills

in gaps in nonfiction topics not covered in Fed Med’s circulation. For example, my neighboring

bunk mate has gotten books on aquaculture and culinary arts through the program.

Residents can also have books mailed into Fed Med by having friends and family order, buy, and

send selections via Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other online vendors. Men here can also

order via a catalog like Bargain Book. The canary yellow monthly mailings are pervasive here

with guys asterisking or highlighting titles that pique their interest. They can pay for it with a

check cut from their Trulincs account.

    For the aforementioned handbook, “an inmate is limited to five books in his property.” Like all

policies, staff enforce this limit inconsistently. Over my two years here, I’ve seen several men

with mini circulations stowed under beds, piled on top of lockers and squeezed into shelves. My

neighbor lends out books to others on the floor as well as magazines. His 2018 World Almanac,

though five years out of date, is a communal Wikipedia. Answering questions about history,

geography, pop-culture, economics, sports, and politics. The world has experienced a

pandemic, the U. S. survived a coup, Tom Brady has retired, unretired, and retired again, and

Taylor Swift became her own planet of stardom since then; still, compared to the decades old

encyclopedia available in the library, this information is slightly more reputable in

understanding the wider world. Another man's collection towers in stacks on top and beside his

locker and under his bed. His horde is seldom used by him or proffered to others. His collecting

compulsion was temporarily squashed by a C. O. who demolished his tome towers after telling

him to repeatedly tidy up. Like an ant colony after a storm, though, he started to compile again,

raiding unit closets where some guys leave books and periodicals for others to peruse.

    Non-profits serving the incarcerated also offer free reading material. Alex Arranda, who has

been incarcerated close to a decade, explained that Books to Prisoners based out of D.C. will

send three free books to you if you write to them with titles, authors, genres, or interests. The

literary magazine, The Sun, offers free subscriptions to incarcerated readers according to

resident Steve Risk who is also near in 10 years of incarceration. In 2023, the Mellon Foundation

announced a $250 million block grant money for arts and humanities programs in state and

federal prisons. Part of it was allocated to the nonprofit Freedom Reads, who pledge to donate

200 titles to every U.S. Prison, State and Federal. A spectrum of faith-based nonprofit also

sending commentaries, devotionals, and scriptures for the incarcerated. For example, the

Prison Mindfulness Institute sent me a book about guided meditation centered on the breath.

Religious texts are also available on site via the chapel media center. Rich McGarrah, the chapel

orderly/clerk, explained “we have about 100 people on average visit the chapel media center

monthly." The center is open 5 1/2 hours a week. Between books and DVDs, McGarraugh

estimates the chapel has a circulation of about 3000 materials covering all recognized faiths in

the B.O.P. Christians, Muslims, Buddhist, and Rastafarians along with others, can check out

and keep sacred texts in their unit, storing them on top of their lockers during the duration of

their stay here. McGarrah states that the Christian and Muslim community utilize the media

center of the most. The chapel does have a budget for new materials annually, and the

chaplains ask for suggestions for books, especially with faiths they’re not familiar with like

Buddhism. Although the chapel doesn’t currently sponsor Bible studies, you will find a couple 

groups led by residents down in the indoor recreation. Squeezed into booths, these devotees 

pore over passages, as springboards to discussion about life in the present and after.

    Some focus on their life after incarceration by accessing the Reentry Resource Library. When

the leisure library had to downsize its collection, one section in need of a new home included

career and self-help titles. Fortunately, many of these relocated to a black metallic cabinet in

the far back room of indoor recreation. While under the auspices of the Reentry Coordinator,

two incarcerated volunteers coordinate checking out material from the locked cabinet. One of

them, John Parsons, opened it up to give me a peek at the collection of around 250 titles. They

range from Flipping Houses For Dummies to Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning.

Parsons estimated that 10 to 15 people check out material a month. At the time, 30 titles were

checked out for a month-long borrow period. When asked about the recency of materials,

Parsons stated, "most career and entrapreneurial books were published in the last 10 to 15

years." He further explained that self-help books like The Seven Habits of Highly Effective

People and Think and Grow Rich are still pertinent, containing wisdom and advice the

transcend technology’s onward march. For many here, the wide array of career and small

business books could pair their innate “hustle spirit” with knowledge to start their own

venture, legal of course when they get out. Its under use might be to a lack of awareness that

it’s available.

    

    While some immerse themselves in fiction to mentally escape Fed Med’s confines or

prepare for post-sentence life via self help books, others spend their hours diving into court

rulings and law handbooks to shorten their stay via legal means. As mentioned earlier, the law

library is adjacent to its leisure counterpart. It houses six computer terminals with Lexis Nexis

databases. You can access rulings from federal, district, appeals, and Supreme Courts; manuals

and handbooks from various federal agencies; legal research and writing guide; and federal

statutes. It’s the closest experience to Google here, sans memes, cat videos, and click bait.

Over the years and decades, men expand their legal lexicon by pouring over the database. They

become experts in using search tools and Boolean logic in hopes of finding cases analogous to

their own. They seek judicial precedents that will speak to the right judge who can grant them

their wish of leaving here. Al Greer, a denizen of the legal library, relies not only on Lexis

Nexis, but e-mail list serve updates, newspaper articles, and legal procedure guides to expand

his knowledge base and skill sets as he assists others with drafting motions, petitions, and

complaints. A fire engine red cabinet also houses a myriad of binders filled with jaundice-

toned policies and procedures and statutes like "The First Step Act” and "Guide to Judiciary

Policy”. Dictionaries and thesauruses, their covers shabby from use, supply meanings and

alternatives to words as guys digest legalese and draft compelling motions. As a medical center,

US MCFP Springfield houses men who have been incarcerated for decades, whose health has

deteriorated, and whose only chance to leave the system is a compassionate release or a

favorable appeal from the courts. For them literacy is a key to freedom.

    Others’ reading lives have flourished to fill the hours, weeks, months, and years. Time is a

surplus commodity for the incarcerated. The people I interviewed all said their reading volume

has expanded considerably since the start of their sentences. On the outside, many read blogs,

online articles, and the occasional novel. With a packed schedule, finishing a book might

stretch out for months according to Alex Arranda. Joe R.,while on the road for his job,

consumed podcast episodes. While incarcerated, obligations of adulting fall away. Those

interviewed average reading 2 to 6 books a month. Depending on the length, complexity, style

and content of a series, some can devour a multi volume saga in a month. During COVID

lockdown, reading time soared for some as they yearned to escape the stagnation of being

stuck in their unit. JC. K. who has been incarcerated since April 2019 has read 218 books total to

the end of 2023, with the majority of it coming during lockdown. I know that as a former

language arts teacher, that research shows that volume of reading leads to better fluency and

comprehension. Tedium sparks the renaissance in reading, an interest dormant since

elementary for many.  For some, picking a book for enjoyment is a sojourn into unchartered

waters.

    Not everyone can read with ease though or at all. My cell mate in the county jail gave me

insight into the real effects of illiteracy for an adult. Ben asked me one night if I could help fill

out paperwork to apply for drug abuse treatment, a condition his judge set at sentencing. I

sensed it wasn’t easy to admit he couldn’t read to a near stranger, but he had no other person

to turn to. Ben had dropped out of school in ninth grade; he had to get a job full-time to

support his family. Over three decades, illiteracy limited options to advance to management at

restaurants he worked at; it made filling out paperwork for assistance a hurdle; it made trying

to start his own small business in construction or lawn care unattainable. Selling drugs didn’t

require needing to read and paid the bills better than his entry level jobs. 

    When I arrived at Fed Med, one of the intake interviews was a dyslexia screening. As a 

college graduate who taught language arts, it was a quick hurdle to leap for me. The Bureau of Prisons, 

though, recognizes that basic literacy and a GED correlate with lower recidivism. As a result, those 

without a diploma or GED and who flagged from the dyslexic screening are mandated to take classes. The

B.O.P. uses the Barton Reading and Spelling System for those with dyslexia. As described in

bureaus First Step Act Programming Directories. The program is an Orton Gillingham

influenced scientific-based evidence driven multi-sensory, direct, explicit, structured,

sequential, and one-to-one tutoring system that addresses the condition of dyslexia through

intense intervention. Tailored toward adult literacy, it includes instruction for reading, spelling,

and writing.

    Jimmy Newman, a student diagnosed with dyslexia, says "my teachers don’t really interact with

us. I sit in the classroom because I have to be there, but I don’t really see any improvement

with the troubles I have.” This is one person’s experience, but it is indicative of a trend I’ve seen

here; the program prescriptions on paper are incongruous with what happens with

implementation often. Whether it’s apathy, burn out, or lack of skill, instruction is rushed,

mediocre, or nonexistent. While there are success stories, many leave with the same literacy

hurdles they came with.

    English isn’t the only lingual currency exchange at Fed Med. Spanish is the primary mode of

expression for a hundred plus here, some almost exclusively. For illiterate Spanish speakers, the

library has limited selections, “drastically lacking” according to Joe Suggs, one of the librarians.

The chapel has a large collection of Spanish Bibles and other texts according to McGarrah the

chapel orderly/clerk; however, only two Spanish speakers frequent the media center there.

Alex Aranda, a fluent bilingual reader estimates that about half of the Spanish speakers here

are readers. Like English bookworms, some receive their text from family and friends. They are

passed around to other looking for stories in their native tongue. I’ve seen titled ranging from a

biography of “El Chapo” Guzmán to well-known novelists like Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Paul

Coelho. Those who are not proficient in English are mandated to take ELL classes. Brian Lynch,

a tutor in the education department, explains we have 50 to 60 ELL students. Depending on

their initial screening, they are placed in different classes with different workbooks. Once they

pass a reading and writing test, they move on to another level until they finish the program. Up

on the floor, I see some study vocabulary or write in workbooks. Some are motivated to

become proficient. Others who will go back to their country of origin don’t find intrinsic value

in the classes. The one carrot to complete the program is not having to attend classes

anymore. Also completing ELL classes and passing the GED guarantee a pay upgrade at work.

While going from $10 a month to $50 might seem inconsequential, it adds up over the months

and years.

Some English speakers actively try to become fluent in other languages. I’ve seen people study

Russian, German, and ancient Greek in my two years here. One current resident Jon R. has

spent part of his sentence immersed in Spanish grammar books and vocabulary flash cards,

devoting small chunks of each day to learn. In addition, he’s read titles like Game of Thrones

series in Spanish. The education department here offers a couple introductory Spanish classes

as well, with the keyword being “introductory”. They won’t lead to fluency but gives a person

some basic vocabulary and phrases to utilize.

    

    One major event at the beginning of 2023 was the introduction of tablets on commissary.

After months of anticipatory angst, guys lined up like rabid Black Friday shoppers to procure

their slab of diversion. Owners could purchase and play games and rent and watch movies for

the first time. Suggs, the librarian, says he did notice a decrease in check out initially with the

new source of entertainment; however, an influx of new inmates brought in new readership,

and circulation rebounded. The novelty of games wore off as well, and many returned to

reading as a pastime.

    The tablet could be a boon for literacy, but that potential is currently untapped. For the

illiterate and dyslexic, audiobooks could open up doors shut to them. They could also use

tablets to assist with literacy skill development via apps. ELL students and foreign language

learners may benefit from audio and graphic and tactile features programs akin to to what

Babbel offers. Tablet users could also download or rent e-books, addressing the omnipresent

issues of finite space. With all of possibilities comes concerns with equity. Not everyone can

afford a tablet. A couple years prior to incarceration, I read an article about Maine State Prisons

phasing in tablets, giving incarcerated readers access to thousands of titles, and diminishing the

size of physical libraries. A concern raised was, in the march toward technological updates, the

indigent would be left behind if prisons decided to phase out the physical libraries entirely. Is

access to reading materials a right or a perk? With strained budgets, I don’t see the Bureau of

Prisons funding one to one tablet programs anytime soon. While sometimes anachronistic,

paper books and other materials ensure parity.

    My own reading life has expanded in both quantity and variety since being incarcerated. As an

English major and teacher, I always valued the power of books to expand horizons, influence

perspectives, and deepen knowledge. I loved teaching Hamlet, Lord of the Flies, and Catcher

in the Rye, among other works. Ironically, my reading life outside of school was stifled by the

amount of work and accompanying stress instilling literacy inside of school. After grading essays

and reading books for class, picking up a book for my own personal enjoyment lacked appeal. I

would pick up a non-fiction release or a novel recommendation from time to time, but I sought

escape through other venues both wholesome and toxic. Stripped of Netflix and social media, I

have come to pages of stationary symbols forming words and sentences, then chapters, then

entire worlds as a respite from the cacophonous and chaotic around me. Going into the page

has given me insight and empathy about those around me. As a white man living in Central

Nebraska, I had a little interaction, true interaction with people of different races and cultures. I

thought myself as enlightened, as a socially conscious liberal recognizing my own privilege and

posting all the right content on my Facebook. Coming to prison and living shoulder to shoulder

with men who have life experiences alien to me made me realize how ignorant I still am. I am

trying to learn, though. That happens through asking questions and listening without making a

judgment. That’s easier as a principle than a practice. I’ve turned to voices on the page to

absorb and reflect. Perhaps, immersion with the written word is easier because I can set the

pace of processing and the speaker is an out of sight figure I don’t live by. Reading the fiction of

authors like Colson Whitehed, SA Cosby and Jonathan Escoffrey have given me a better sense of

what it means to be black in America. Their protagonists yearn, strive, hope, and love like any

human. They also regret, scorn, judge, and fail too. Their skin shade, though, shapes how they

see themselves, how others see them, and how they navigate the world. Fiction is not a

substitute for real lived experience. Still, I came away from novels with a more nuanced mind

and compassionate heart.

    Non-fiction has been a beacon to shed light on political, economic, and cultural undercurrents

directing our choices and views. The first book sent to me by my friend Holly was Black Flags,

Blue Waters about the golden age of piracy. Since then, I’ve learned about surprising roles

street addresses play, the history and legacy of redlining, the different views of justice among

colonists and the indigenous in the 18th century Pennsylvania, and the development and far-

reaching impact of Silicon Valley. Through books like Sealed from the Beginning by Ibram X

Kendi, Caste by Isabelle Wilkerson, Poverty in America by Matthew Desmond and Dream

Town by Laura Meckler, I’ve seen how the individual stories I’ve listened to here are threads in

much grander tapestries of race and class.

    Over my 2+ years here, I’ve overheard conversations about books, their plots, their character

development and their style between men who probably weren’t engaged in such literary

analysis in their high school English classes. I’ve listened to men debate over which author is

better, which book in a series is the pinnacle, and how a book should have ended. It makes me

wonder if book clubs have potential here. Having guys read texts with dynamic characters and

plots but also with themes related to justice, reconciliation, trauma, and redemption may

foster healing, empathy, and growth. The programming I’ve gone through like "Parenting and

Financial Literacy” are supposed to reduce recidivism by teaching new knowledge and skills to

replace problematic behavior and thinking. These courses have been dry and unengaging. Guys

might be physically present in the class, but most of their minds are not. There is neither

ownership of learning nor rigor to the material. Like inmate driven activities such as hobby

craft, the band program, and intramural sports, I wonder if sustained book clubs sanctioned and

funded by education or reentry departments but led by the incarcerated would lead to deeper

transformations and beliefs, attitudes, and behavior. I remember reading a news story years

ago about police recruits having to read and discuss novels as part of their training. The novels

focused on the lives of those living in societal margins. The goal for the trainers was to cultivate

perspective and empathy among the new hires. Similarly, having guys read, discuss, and reflect

on novels featuring characters harmed by drug use, sex trafficking, or financial exploitation

could foster empathy toward victims and responsibility for the harm caused by crimes. This

might be idealistic thinking, but compared to the programs currently offered, it’s an approach

worth exploring.

    Just as incarceration has nudged many toward richer reading lives, release can dilute it.

Jon R. told me, "When I get out, I’ll have so many more obligations to juggle that reading will

take a nose dive.” It bothers me a bit since it (Reading) has broadened my vocabulary and

perspectives. Alex Aranda echoes Jon saying “I know work and family will encroach on time I

have to read; I still want to read more books in English.“ Steve Risk, after being disconnected

from the internet and 24/7 streaming access takes a different view. “TV saps your potential;

Reading transformed you into a more insightful person and silent observer around you; I plan

to continue my reading habits from the outside.” Al Greer explains he plans to continue to read

text related to self-help, health, and legal issues using online media instead. 

    As for me, incarceration has made me reflect on how much time I wasted online. I had a problematic

relationship in many ways with social media and various apps. Part of supervised release will be

court mandated limitations on my access to it. Even without them though, I would want to

check out from much of the metaverse; instead, I want to be fully present in the world, the

tangible one with, to quote poet, Mary Oliver “my one wild and precious life.” This might sound

fanciful, but my arrest, conviction, and incarceration forced me to take a long and often difficult

look at how what I say I believe matches up with what I do. I’m still far from the aligning the

two. I do know that reading more is part of the recalibration. It’s prompted me to question

what I know, consider other points of view, and appreciate the small beauties of the day

beyond the page.