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The Guardian
12 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Ending Isolation review – a takedown of solitary confinement by incarcerated co-authors
Terry Kupers can't sleep. The veteran psychiatrist, author and solitary confinement expert, 81 and still working on multiple projects, is particularly troubled by the brutal spate of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) raids rocking communities around the US. 'My father came from Russia, so I'm an immigrant's son,' he said. 'I can't live with these raids. I need to do something about it.' Recently, 'doing something' has meant putting the finishing touches on a new book, Ending Isolation: The Case Against Solitary Confinement, which Kupers co-authored with three others. Out on 4 September from Pluto Press, the book is an exhaustively researched takedown of solitary confinement: the practice of isolating an incarcerated person for hours, days, weeks or even years in a cell all their own. It's a practice long decried by experts including Kupers, but despite their repeated warnings, researchers and advocates generally agree that anywhere between 75,000 and 80,000 people are locked in solitary confinement in the US on any given day. The true number could be much higher, and as the book points out, 'there is no evidence that solitary confinement actually reduces violence. Instead, there are research findings that point strongly to the opposite conclusion, that solitary confinement worsens the problem of violence, both within prisons and in the public.' Considering this, Ending Isolation is a vital, systematic dismantling of every possible argument one could use to justify solitary confinement. The book covers everything from the history of solitary, the disturbing overlaps between sexual assault and isolation practices, and a deep dive into who gets 'sent to the hole' (spoiler alert: it can be any prisoner at any time for the vaguest reasons that more than often defy logic). The chapters feature narratives from people who have lived through torturous isolation, which makes for a mentally fraying read that feels, at times, like you're peeking behind a curtain in a room where you're not meant to be. 'Most people who go to solitary confinement are broken by the experience,' Kupers said in an interview with the Guardian. 'They have what I've termed the decimation of life skills. They become unlearned in terms of how to relate to others, and in terms of the prison environment, they then get into more trouble when they get out of segregation.' Kupers' insights are based on decades of interviews with people who have experienced solitary confinement in America's prisons. His latest book offers the in-depth psychiatric research Kupers has previously delivered in five other books and hundreds of articles – only this time he's joined by three co-authors, including two people who are currently incarcerated. Chris Blackwell, an award-winning journalist currently serving a decades-long sentence in Washington, kicks off the book with an engaging prologue recounting how he endured his first stint in solitary confinement at the age of 12. The experience 'solidified my distrust for authority figures forever and drove me into a deep hate for 'the system''. He has now spent most of his life as part of that system. By age 18, he'd been arrested more than 20 times. After killing a man during a drug-related robbery ('an act I would never be able to repair', he writes) Blackwell received the 45-year sentence he is currently serving. More solitary confinement awaited, too. 'Nothing is worse than becoming a target in prison,' he writes in the prologue. 'I refused to comply with what I felt was a constant abuse of power, and guards refused to allow me to rebel without punishment for my actions.' Even after years in isolation, Blackwell says he is still struggling to understand the impact those experiences had on him. But he knows the good he offers – his writing, his advocacy – is in spite of solitary confinement. Kupers says Blackwell is representative of a large proportion of prisoners: 'He didn't have murder in his mind,' but he committed a terrible crime that will haunt him – and others – for the rest of their lives. When they started working together on this book, Kupers realized that if circumstances were different, he and Blackwell would have been close friends. He admires his intellect, the grassroots organization Blackwell helped co-found from behind bars, and the harrowing essays and incarceration accounts Blackwell has published in the Appeal, the New York Times, the Washington Post and many other outlets. 'He happens to be behind bars and therefore his life is very limited and restricted,' Kupers said. 'But it's amazing what he's done given those limits.' It was Blackwell who recruited Kupers to co-author the book alongside himself and Deborah Zalesne, a law professor at the City University of New York. Together, Blackwell and Zalesne had the personal testimonies and legal foundation covered; they needed Kupers to add the mental health angle. He does so convincingly, detailing how solitary confinement, especially when it's prolonged, can cause severe anxiety, panic, sleep problems, psychotic behavior and severe post-traumatic stress disorder. Many people 'sent to the hole' develop a compulsion for self-harm, and Kupers says this shouldn't surprise anyone. 'Prolonged solitary confinement is torture,' he writes. These repeated insights, while necessary, aren't the main draw of the book. Rather, it's the contributions of people such as Kwaneta Harris, Ending Isolation's fourth and final co-author. Harris is an incarcerated writer whose work has helped shed light on the crisis of sexual assault in prisons. 'I used to think there was a timeline for when people lost their minds in solitary confinement. Six months, two years, maybe five. I was wrong. The descent into madness doesn't follow a schedule. Even now, back in medium-security, I wake up some mornings thinking I'm still in that cell,' she writes. Those passages, coupled with reams of research, leave no doubt that solitary confinement constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. The question, then, is if the practice will ever end. 'There's a split in correctional authorities,' Kupers said. 'Probably around half think that solitary confinement is a very bad idea.' In Donald Trump's second term, Kupers is concerned about the advent of places like Alligator Alcatraz. 'This book is representative of this finding that ending solitary confinement is strategically extremely important in the context of what Ice is doing, for instance, and the emergence of a police state,' Kupers said. 'If we required that people who are behind bars are entitled to the civil and human rights, which they are by law entitled to, if we gave them those rights, including due process, that would massively change what's going on right now.' Kupers adds: 'If we continue to treat people like monsters, that is exactly what they will become.' Ending Isolation: The Case Against Solitary Confinement comes out on 4 September from Pluto Press. The book's release date coincides with the launch of a nationwide bus tour hosted by Unlock the Box.
The Guardian
a day ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Ending Isolation review – a takedown of solitary confinement by incarcerated co-authors
Terry Kupers can't sleep. The veteran psychiatrist, author and solitary confinement expert, 81 and still working on multiple projects, is particularly troubled by the brutal spate of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) raids rocking communities around the US. 'My father came from Russia, so I'm an immigrant's son,' he said. 'I can't live with these raids. I need to do something about it.' Recently, 'doing something' has meant putting the finishing touches on a new book, Ending Isolation: The Case Against Solitary Confinement, which Kupers co-authored with three others. Out on 4 September from Pluto Press, the book is an exhaustingly researched takedown of solitary confinement: the practice of isolating an incarcerated person for hours, days, weeks or even years in a cell all their own. It's a practice long decried by experts including Kupers, but despite their repeated warnings, researchers and advocates generally agree that anywhere between 75,000 and 80,000 people are locked in solitary confinement in the US on any given day. The true number could be much higher, and as the book points out, 'there is no evidence that solitary confinement actually reduces violence. Instead, there are research findings that point strongly to the opposite conclusion, that solitary confinement worsens the problem of violence, both within prisons and in the public.' Considering this, Ending Isolation is a vital, systematic dismantling of every possible argument one could use to justify solitary confinement. The book covers everything from the history of solitary, the disturbing overlaps between sexual assault and isolation practices, and a deep dive into who gets 'sent to the hole' (spoiler alert: it can be any prisoner at any time for the vaguest reasons that more than often defy logic.) The chapters feature narratives from people who have lived through tortuous isolation, which makes for a mentally fraying read that feels, at times, like you're peeking behind a curtain in a room where you're not meant to be. 'Most people who go to solitary confinement are broken by the experience,' Kupers said in an interview with the Guardian. 'They have what I've termed the decimation of life skills. They become unlearned in terms of how to relate to others, and in terms of the prison environment, they then get into more trouble when they get out of segregation.' Kupers' insights are based on decades of interviews with people who have experienced solitary confinement in America's prisons. His latest book offers the in-depth psychiatric research Kupers has previously delivered in five other books and hundreds of articles – only this time he's joined by three co-authors, including two people who are currently incarcerated. Chris Blackwell, an award-winning journalist currently serving a decades-long sentence in Washington, kicks off the book with an engaging prologue recounting how he endured his first stint in solitary confinement at the age of 12. The experience 'solidified my distrust for authority figures forever and drove me into a deep hate for 'the system''. He has now spent most of his life as part of that system. By age 18, he'd been arrested more than 20 times. After killing a man during a drug-related robbery ('an act I would never be able to repair', he writes) Blackwell received the 45-year sentence he is currently serving. More solitary confinement awaited, too. 'Nothing is worse than becoming a target in prison,' he writes in the prologue. 'I refused to comply with what I felt was a constant abuse of power, and guards refused to allow me to rebel without punishment for my actions.' Even after years in isolation, Blackwell says he is still struggling to understand the impact those experiences had on him. But he knows the good he offers – his writing, his advocacy – is in spite of solitary confinement. Kupers says Blackwell is representative of a large proportion of prisoners: 'He didn't have murder in his mind,' but he committed a terrible crime that will haunt him – and others – for the rest of their lives. When they started working together on this book, Kupers realized that if circumstances were different, he and Blackwell would have been close friends. He admires his intellect, the grassroots organization Blackwell helped co-found from behind bars, and the harrowing essays and incarceration accounts Blackwell has published in the Appeal, the New York Times, the Washington Post and many other outlets. 'He happens to be behind bars and therefore his life is very limited and restricted,' Kupers said. 'But it's amazing what he's done given those limits.' It was Blackwell who recruited Kupers to co-author the book alongside himself and Deborah Zalesne, a law professor at the City University of New York. Together, Blackwell and Zalesne had the personal testimonies and legal foundation covered; they needed Kupers to add the mental health angle. He does so convincingly, detailing how solitary confinement, especially when it's prolonged, can cause severe anxiety, panic, sleep problems, psychotic behavior and severe post-traumatic stress disorder. Many people 'sent to the hole' develop a compulsion for self-harm, and Kupers says this shouldn't surprise anyone. 'Prolonged solitary confinement is torture,' he writes. These repeated insights, while necessary, aren't the main draw of the book. Rather, it's the contributions of people such as Kwaneta Harris, Ending Isolation's fourth and final co-author. Harris is an incarcerated writer whose work has helped shed light on the crisis of sexual assault in prisons. 'I used to think there was a timeline for when people lost their minds in solitary confinement. Six months, two years, maybe five. I was wrong. The descent into madness doesn't follow a schedule. Even now, back in medium-security, I wake up some mornings thinking I'm still in that cell,' she writes. Those passages, coupled with reams of research, leave no doubt that solitary confinement constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. The question, then, is if the practice will ever end. 'There's a split in correctional authorities,' Kupers said. 'Probably around half think that solitary confinement is a very bad idea.' In Donald Trump's second term, Kupers is concerned about the advent of places like Alligator Alcatraz. 'This book is representative of this finding that ending solitary confinement is strategically extremely important in the context of what Ice is doing, for instance, and the emergence of a police state,' Kupers said. 'If we required that people who are behind bars are entitled to the civil and human rights, which they are by law entitled to, if we gave them those rights, including due process, that would massively change what's going on right now.' Kupers adds: 'If we continue to treat people like monsters, that is exactly what they will become.' Ending Isolation: The Case Against Solitary Confinement comes out on 4 September from Pluto Press. The book's release date coincides with the launch of a nationwide bus tour hosted by Unlock the Box.
The National
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
James Tait Black Prizes 2025 announced
The James Tait Memorial Black Prize, now in its 106th year, is the only major British book prize to be judged by literature scholars and students. This year is the first time that both prizes – which are awarded in fiction and biography – have been awarded to translated works. READ MORE: Warning after 'five lamb heads' found dumped in Glasgow park's pond It is also only the second time a writer and translator have been awarded a prize together in the history of the awards. The prizes were first opened to translations in 2021, with authors and translators honoured equally. The winning authors receive a £10,000 prize. See the winners of this year's prizes below. James Tait Memorial Black Prize winners 2025: Fiction: My Heavenly Favourite, Lucas Rijneveld, translated by Michele Hutchison (Faber & Faber) Biography: My Great Arab Melancholy, Lamia Ziade, translated by Emma Ramadan (Pluto Press) Lucas Rijneveld's winning fiction title, My Heavenly Favourite, translated by Michele Hutchison, charts a rural veterinarian's obsession with a young woman. The novel was commended by judges for its unique voice and uncompromising storytelling. Rijneveld is a Dutch writer known for his emotionally intense and stylistically bold work. His debut novel, The Discomfort of Evening (2018), won the 2020 International Booker Prize. READ MORE: Japanese ambassador meets John Swinney during Scotland visit Translator Hutchison is a British writer and translator specialising in Dutch-language literature, and also won the 2020 International Booker Prize for her translation of Rijneveld's debut novel. Rijneveld said: 'What a glorious honour to be added to the tremendous list of literary giants who preceded me in receiving this wonderful award.' Hutchison added: 'What an honour to share this year's prize with Lucas Rijneveld for My Heavenly Favourite which certainly was a challenging book to translate. 'I've long been aware of the prize's reputation and its sterling catalogue of winners so to be included among them is a genuine thrill." The fiction prize judging panel, led by University of Edinburgh academics Benjamin Bateman and Hannah Boast, said: "Lucas Rijneveld's challenging, inventive novel is a major literary achievement that confirms his status as one of Europe's most exciting new writers. "Our panel praised his distinctive and vivid language, which was rendered in a stunning translation by Michele Hutchison. My Heavenly Favourite is a uniquely claustrophobic and compulsive read.' The biography prize has been awarded to Lamia Ziade for My Great Arab Melancholy, translated by Emma Ramadan. The text traces the lives of Arab intellectuals from the mid-20th century onward, exploring the cultural and political upheaval of the Arab world, capturing a sense of collective loss and longing. READ MORE: 'Do something!': Question Time audience member in fiery row with Labour MP on Israel Beirut-born Ziade is a French-Lebanese author and illustrator, while Ramadan is an award-winning literary translator, specialising in French to English work. Commenting, Ziade said: 'It is a great honour to receive this prestigious prize. I want to thank the jury from the bottom of heart for granting such distinction to a book so passionately supportive of the Palestinian cause. 'In the horrific times we are living through, I am doubly touched by this honour. I am also very grateful to David Shulman, my editor at Pluto Press, for publishing this book so unusual in both its form and its subject, and to my translator Emma Ramadan for her excellent work.' Ramadan said: 'My deepest gratitude to the jury for recognizing this essential book by Lamia Ziadé that uplifts the undersung stories of martyrs, revolutionaries, and dreamers of the Arab world, decrying the imperialist forces that wreaked havoc in this region, and revealing the ripple effect in our current climate. 'This award for a hybrid work of writing and illustrations, is a recognition of bravery and originality in storytelling and publishing.' Biography prize judges Dr Simon Cooke and Desha Osborne said: "My Great Arab Melancholy presents a visually striking and poignant blend of text and image that tells a story of overwhelming loss and perseverance for the people of the Middle East. "The images – historical and traumatic – linger in the memory long after turning the page. The words - beautifully translated - speak only when necessary and yet are inseparable from the images. "Both speak to the past, present and future of a world through the eyes of its author-illustrator.' A ceremony to recognise the winning titles and the shortlisted entries will take place on Friday.
