Harm and Punishment : Incarcerated Writers on Violence and the US Prison

A groundbreaking anthology of essays by incarcerated writers about the prison’s role in perpetuating violence—from which a future of collective care rather than punishment can emerge.

Featuring writers from across the nation, this is the first book to unfold the multiple and intersecting ways that violence shapes and informs the lives of incarcerated people, prior to, during, and after incarceration—in the words of those directly impacted by the system.

Prison is neither the beginning of the inquiry nor the end. This volume illuminates violence as a contextual phenomena shaped by historical trauma, cycles of deprivation, and systemic inequities. It reveals the interconnectedness of personal and structural violence, tracing the way violence often emerges within the fabric of communities profoundly shaped by poverty, racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia.

The stories, testimonies, and reflections in Harm and Punishment serve as bridges toward a new imagination. They expose the limitations of punishment and move us closer to a vision of collective care and mutual responsibility. In bearing witness to the experiences of incarcerated writers across the country, readers become part of a profound collective endeavor to dismantle barriers of misunderstanding and fear that can lead us toward action and change.