Writers who find themselves imprisoned are often able to continue their work in jail. The genre which includes all such writings, whether fiction or nonfiction, is prison literature. Many noted authors have been jailed and have managed to produce significant works while behind bars.
While a good many written works were created behind bars, some of the more famous examples include Mein Kampf (by Adolf Hitler), The Pilgrim's Progress (by John Bunyan) and De Profundis (by Oscar Wilde), while Jeffrey Archer wrote his prison memoirs in jail and Marquis de Sade produced a huge body of work while imprisoned for more than 10 years.
Hitler was locked away in 1924 for attempting to seize power in Munich with his Bier Hall Putsch. While in jail he wrote Mein Kampf, which translates as "My Struggle". It became extremely popular as Hitler rose to power, and by the end of World War II around 10 million copies of the book were in circulation in Germany alone. The book is, unsurprisingly, still considered controversial, for its racist contents.
John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress was first published in 1678, and is considered to be among the most significant works of the English language. Allegorical in style, the book's main characters have names like "Christian", "Evangelist", "Obstinate", "Pliable", "Mr. Worldly Wiseman", and so on. Bunyan himself had been imprisoned many times, and to this day scholars debate over which of his jail terms saw him start the writing of The Pilgrim's Progress.
A present day example of a writer working from a jail cell is provided by Jeffrey Archer, a disgraced politician in the UK, who was locked up after being found guilty of perverting the course of justice and perjury. He published 3 books about his prison experiences, Belmarsh: Hell, Wayland: Purgatory, and North Sea Camp: Heaven. As well as writing while in jail, Archer managed to further profit from his situation by basing characters in his fiction novels on people he had met behind bars. Despite falling foul of the law, Archer has made a fortune from selling over a hundred million books.
Another scandalous author to fall into prison writing was Marquis de Sade. His work was notoriously explicit and shocking, and he was arrested specifically due to two of his books, Justine and Juliette. It is interesting to note that the arrest was ordered by none other than Napoleon Bonaparte, who in turn would produce a popular autobiographical work while imprisoned on St. Helena Island. Sade was very active as a writer during his eleven years imprisoned in the Bastille, producing 16 novellas, 11 novels, some 20 works for theater, and 2 volumes of essays, as well as his diary.
Oscar Wilde was also no stranger to sexual controversy in his time. In 19th Century England it was illegal to engage in gay sexual acts, and this led to Oscar Wilde's imprisonment. Whilst in jail, Wilde composed a fifty-thousand word letter to his partner Lord Alfred Douglas. He was never allowed to send this letter but after he died it was edited to create the work "De Profundis". A complete and unedited version of the letter has since been released.
As can be seen, the long, unoccupied hours of jail time are at least partially responsible for some truly memorable works throughout history. For the reading public, infamous characters, dramatic injustices and the dark thrills of life "inside", only add to the allure of prison literature.
While a good many written works were created behind bars, some of the more famous examples include Mein Kampf (by Adolf Hitler), The Pilgrim's Progress (by John Bunyan) and De Profundis (by Oscar Wilde), while Jeffrey Archer wrote his prison memoirs in jail and Marquis de Sade produced a huge body of work while imprisoned for more than 10 years.
Hitler was locked away in 1924 for attempting to seize power in Munich with his Bier Hall Putsch. While in jail he wrote Mein Kampf, which translates as "My Struggle". It became extremely popular as Hitler rose to power, and by the end of World War II around 10 million copies of the book were in circulation in Germany alone. The book is, unsurprisingly, still considered controversial, for its racist contents.
John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress was first published in 1678, and is considered to be among the most significant works of the English language. Allegorical in style, the book's main characters have names like "Christian", "Evangelist", "Obstinate", "Pliable", "Mr. Worldly Wiseman", and so on. Bunyan himself had been imprisoned many times, and to this day scholars debate over which of his jail terms saw him start the writing of The Pilgrim's Progress.
A present day example of a writer working from a jail cell is provided by Jeffrey Archer, a disgraced politician in the UK, who was locked up after being found guilty of perverting the course of justice and perjury. He published 3 books about his prison experiences, Belmarsh: Hell, Wayland: Purgatory, and North Sea Camp: Heaven. As well as writing while in jail, Archer managed to further profit from his situation by basing characters in his fiction novels on people he had met behind bars. Despite falling foul of the law, Archer has made a fortune from selling over a hundred million books.
Another scandalous author to fall into prison writing was Marquis de Sade. His work was notoriously explicit and shocking, and he was arrested specifically due to two of his books, Justine and Juliette. It is interesting to note that the arrest was ordered by none other than Napoleon Bonaparte, who in turn would produce a popular autobiographical work while imprisoned on St. Helena Island. Sade was very active as a writer during his eleven years imprisoned in the Bastille, producing 16 novellas, 11 novels, some 20 works for theater, and 2 volumes of essays, as well as his diary.
Oscar Wilde was also no stranger to sexual controversy in his time. In 19th Century England it was illegal to engage in gay sexual acts, and this led to Oscar Wilde's imprisonment. Whilst in jail, Wilde composed a fifty-thousand word letter to his partner Lord Alfred Douglas. He was never allowed to send this letter but after he died it was edited to create the work "De Profundis". A complete and unedited version of the letter has since been released.
As can be seen, the long, unoccupied hours of jail time are at least partially responsible for some truly memorable works throughout history. For the reading public, infamous characters, dramatic injustices and the dark thrills of life "inside", only add to the allure of prison literature.
About the Author:
Find out why prison literature is so important by viewing our web pages at hopeforeveryone.com now. To access our online bookstore and read testimonials, check the links at http://hopeforeveryone.com today.
0 التعليقات:
Post a Comment