Exhibit

Sentences

Prison Writing Through the Ages
Decorative manuscript initial shows two people behind a barred prison window
Boethius, Anicii Severini Boecii, manuscript (between 1400 and 1425)
Credit: MS Lat 178, Houghton Library, Harvard University
Book cover displays a fallen man and the name of the author, Primo Levi
Primo Levi, Se Questo è un Uomo (1947)
Credit: IC9.L5785.947s (C), Houghton Library, Harvard University
Book cover displays prison window with bars
Words From the House of the Dead: Prison Writings from Soledad (1971)
Credit: AL 410.67, Widener Library, Harvard University
An open book with text hand-written between the printed lines.
Wole Soyinka, Prison Diaries (papers 1966–1996)
Credit: MS Thr 427, Houghton Library, Harvard University
Decorative manuscript initial shows two people behind a barred prison window Book cover displays a fallen man and the name of the author, Primo Levi Book cover displays prison window with bars An open book with text hand-written between the printed lines.

Through Friday, Aug 11, 2023

Open to the public

Location

Edison and Newman Room, Floor 1
Houghton Library
Harvard Yard
Cambridge, MA 02138
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Sentences includes works by nearly fifty authors who wrote from prison, or who recounted their experiences of imprisonment after regaining their freedom, including

  • Boethius
  • Dietrich Bonhoeffer
  • Angela Davis
  • Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  • Rosa Luxembourg
  • Malcolm X
  • Wole Soyinka
  • Oscar Wilde

Spanning poetry, fiction, drama, philosophy, history, and autobiography, the prison writings in this exhibition provide a glimpse into how individuals react to their incarceration and powerfully demonstrate some of the socio-political and economic forces that marginalize, disenfranchise, and criminalize people, their communities, and their beliefs.

Curated by Peter X. Accardo, Houghton Librarian for Scholarly and Public Programs.

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Houghton exhibitions are open to all visitors; face coverings are recommended. Please see Harvard Library's Visitor Access Page for the most up-to-date information about visiting the library.