Once You’re Inside: Poems Exploring Incarceration

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Once You’re Inside is a poetry collection that details Ann Bracken’s volunteer experiences working in prison-based writing programs. Prison had been the last place on her mind when she thought about volunteering. Why would she want to work with those people–drug dealers and gang members? But after a few visits, she was so impressed with the men’s keen insights, humility, and passion for learning, that she volunteered regularly for three years in two Maryland prisons. Her friends and family were concerned for her safety every time she went back. The incarcerated people are not who you think they are, she assured them. The men and women Bracken met hungered to learn, yet most of their educations were halted at the GED level. And many of them, like Vincent, had grown up in foster care and spent half their lives in prison. Another man, Ryan, told her, I came here when I was 15. I’m 40 now. But the most heartbreaking line that Bracken heard was this from one of the women: You’re the first new person we’ve seen in seven years. The poems in Once You’re Inside will introduce readers to memorable characters living in harsh and inhumane conditions. People who are willing to contribute to their communities in positive ways, if only someone would give them a chance.