Could you walk into a maximum-security prison in America and treat the prisoners without regard for their crimes. Chris Hedges did just that Following the rules set forth by the prisons, he took some of the toughest, most feared, prisoners and taught them to write, to read literature especially lays, and then help them use their life stories to create and produce a play based on these writings. He allowed them to be who they are and used this fact to help them believe in themselves when no one else cared. For the first time in their lives, they saw and felt that they mattered; that what they said and believed were facts they could draw on in their writings. They played the characters in their play, which gave them strength to continue in the class and begin to change their lives.

Chris Hedges may be the first person who showed them that their lives mattered. His recounting of these classes and the prisoners who wrote, is a story worth reading. Sometimes it only takes one person to believe in you to make a difference.

Hedges speaks of prison with great detail, such as the size of the cells, the day-to-day living conditions, and schedules of the inmates, whom he refers to as his students. He talks about his interactions with them as though they are his friends. This is a reminder that those incarcerated are indeed human beings, just like the rest of us.

Although he had his choosing of where he could have taught, having worked at NYU, Columbia, Princeton, and The University of Toronto, he had found his calling by working in the prison system.

As he mentions in the book, he was inspired by James Baldwin, also the son of a preacher, and George Orwell, and wanted to use his writing as a weapon. He had decided early on that he would amplify their voice, document their suffering. He would name the many injustices being done to them.

This is felt in the book, Hedges campaigning for those incarcerated, at first using this book as a platform to, using his voice for those who are voiceless and living in cages, and secondly, by offering forth a second lease on life, educating those kept behind the walls and bars of a maximum security prison.

A rare, incredible, but devastating glimpse into the justice system in the United States. I was utterly blown away by this book, and the work that Chris Hedges continues to do, despite all that seems to go against him and his work.

At parts of this book, I found myself with chills. One moment in particular stays with me. Students are handing in various assignments and papers, “One of the most gifted students in the class, and who I could sense was a talented writer, handed in dramatic passes that read like bad television scripts. Subsequently, I learned that he had been framed for his crime, had little experience on the streets, and based his portrayal of violent thugs on popular culture and prison lore, which invariably romanticizes gangsters. He wrote, in all capital letters at the bottom of each of his papers, “I AM INNOCENT.”

I cried many times reading the essays, poems, plays, and course assignments worked on by these incarcerated individuals, as they discussed their histories, deep, raw, and unspeakable traumas, it wounded me greatly as a reader. They did not speak of their crimes, murders, rapes, and other unspeakable felonies, so I didn’t see that side of them. What I saw was a side that was deeply affected and impacted, and a side that was still human, with a heart that beats just like mine.

Full review coming soon to: www.avocadodiaries.com

It has potential but lacked development. I never felt like I knew the class dynamics. He provided lots of titles and plot summaries (too many for me) but didn’t talk about the responses to them. What did the class think? I also wanted to know more about the actual writing process of the play. How did students respond to his feedback? What were the challenges? What was the student response to the performance?

It doesn’t matter how much I research into the American prison system I never fail to be blown away by the the extent of its injustice, but also by the vocal clarity of those trapped within it. The social and penal experiences of Chris Hedge's students are emotionally exhausting to read, especially knowing that those experiences are replicated in prisons across America, but it’s so important to listen to these narratives and remember that they represent real people.
Although it didn’t have the emotional impact of some similar books I’ve read, 'Our Class' ensures that the students are the driving force behind the reading which makes it particularly powerful - hearing these men tell their stories in their own words is what makes books like this so important. There are references to relevant literature and historical information throughout, including discussions of key figures in racial/justice movements and the way they inspired the students’ desire to learn. I finished the book feeling so grateful that they were able to express and share their most honest selves with each other.
Our Class is a testament to the power of education in all contexts, but also to the human capacity for resilience and integrity in the face of state-sanctioned injustice.

Reading this book is the one thing I never thought I needed, for I always took it that a prisoner was a criminal, serving time for something they did and it serves them right. However, reading this book and the sessions the author has with inmates on writing, reading and social issues related to the penal code in the US, it gave me more of an insight on the people behind those bars.
The people that bias, prejudice and a flawed criminal justice system failed and continues to fail and it hurt reading about it.
Thanks Netgalley for the eARC.