Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist
"A book of rare power and beauty, majestic in its structure, filled with the truth of imagination and the truth of actuality, emphatic in its declarations and noble in its reach."—Bayard Boyesen, Mother Earth.

"No other book discusses so frankly the criminal ways of the closed prison society."— Kenneth Rexroth

In 1892, Alexander Berkman tried to assassinate Henry Clay Frick for the latter's role in violently suppressing the Homestead Steel Strike. Berkman's attempt was unsuccessful. Berkman spent the next fourteen years in Pennsylvania's Western Penitentiary. Upon release, he wrote what was to become a classic of prison literature, and a profound testament to human courage in the face of oppression.

This new edition of his account of those years is introduced and fully annotated by Barry Pateman and Jessica Moran, both former associate editors of the Emma Goldman Papers at the University of California Berkeley. Their efforts make this the definitive version of Berkman's tale of his transformation within prison, his growing sympathy for those he'd considered social parasites, and the intimate relationships he developed with them. Also includes never-before-published facsimile reprints and transcriptions of the diary Berkman kept while he wrote this book, conveying the difficulties he had reliving his experiences.

Alexander Berkman (1870–1936) was a leading writer and militant in the anarchist movement and author of the classic primer What is Anarchism?

Barry Pateman was associate editor of Emma Goldman: A Documentary History, and editor of Chomsky on Anarchism. He is a historian and member of the Kate Sharpley Library collective.

Jessica Moran, was an assistant editor of Emma Goldman: A Documentary History. She is a member of the Kate Sharpley Library collective and is an archivist currently living and working in New Zealand.

1100012769
Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist
"A book of rare power and beauty, majestic in its structure, filled with the truth of imagination and the truth of actuality, emphatic in its declarations and noble in its reach."—Bayard Boyesen, Mother Earth.

"No other book discusses so frankly the criminal ways of the closed prison society."— Kenneth Rexroth

In 1892, Alexander Berkman tried to assassinate Henry Clay Frick for the latter's role in violently suppressing the Homestead Steel Strike. Berkman's attempt was unsuccessful. Berkman spent the next fourteen years in Pennsylvania's Western Penitentiary. Upon release, he wrote what was to become a classic of prison literature, and a profound testament to human courage in the face of oppression.

This new edition of his account of those years is introduced and fully annotated by Barry Pateman and Jessica Moran, both former associate editors of the Emma Goldman Papers at the University of California Berkeley. Their efforts make this the definitive version of Berkman's tale of his transformation within prison, his growing sympathy for those he'd considered social parasites, and the intimate relationships he developed with them. Also includes never-before-published facsimile reprints and transcriptions of the diary Berkman kept while he wrote this book, conveying the difficulties he had reliving his experiences.

Alexander Berkman (1870–1936) was a leading writer and militant in the anarchist movement and author of the classic primer What is Anarchism?

Barry Pateman was associate editor of Emma Goldman: A Documentary History, and editor of Chomsky on Anarchism. He is a historian and member of the Kate Sharpley Library collective.

Jessica Moran, was an assistant editor of Emma Goldman: A Documentary History. She is a member of the Kate Sharpley Library collective and is an archivist currently living and working in New Zealand.

38.95 In Stock
Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist

Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist

by Alexander Berkman
Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist

Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist

by Alexander Berkman

Overview

"A book of rare power and beauty, majestic in its structure, filled with the truth of imagination and the truth of actuality, emphatic in its declarations and noble in its reach."—Bayard Boyesen, Mother Earth.

"No other book discusses so frankly the criminal ways of the closed prison society."— Kenneth Rexroth

In 1892, Alexander Berkman tried to assassinate Henry Clay Frick for the latter's role in violently suppressing the Homestead Steel Strike. Berkman's attempt was unsuccessful. Berkman spent the next fourteen years in Pennsylvania's Western Penitentiary. Upon release, he wrote what was to become a classic of prison literature, and a profound testament to human courage in the face of oppression.

This new edition of his account of those years is introduced and fully annotated by Barry Pateman and Jessica Moran, both former associate editors of the Emma Goldman Papers at the University of California Berkeley. Their efforts make this the definitive version of Berkman's tale of his transformation within prison, his growing sympathy for those he'd considered social parasites, and the intimate relationships he developed with them. Also includes never-before-published facsimile reprints and transcriptions of the diary Berkman kept while he wrote this book, conveying the difficulties he had reliving his experiences.

Alexander Berkman (1870–1936) was a leading writer and militant in the anarchist movement and author of the classic primer What is Anarchism?

Barry Pateman was associate editor of Emma Goldman: A Documentary History, and editor of Chomsky on Anarchism. He is a historian and member of the Kate Sharpley Library collective.

Jessica Moran, was an assistant editor of Emma Goldman: A Documentary History. She is a member of the Kate Sharpley Library collective and is an archivist currently living and working in New Zealand.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781023313070
Publisher: Anson Street Press
Publication date: 03/29/2025
Pages: 406
Product dimensions: 6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.94(d)

About the Author

Alexander Berkman: Alexander Berkman was a leading writer and participant in the 20th century Anarchist movement. The young, idealistic Berkman practiced "propaganda by deed" attempting to assassinate Henry Clay Frick during the Homestead Steel Strike of 1892. While imprisoned, he wrote the classic tale of prison life Prison Memoirs of and Anarchist. After his release, Berkman edited Emma Goldman's Mother Earth and his own paper The Blast!. Deported from New York City to his native Russia in 1919, were he saw first hand the failure of the Bolshevik revolution and dedicated himself to writing the classic primer on Anarchism, What is Anarchism?.

Barry Pateman was associate editor of Emma Goldman: A Documentary History, and editor of Chomsky on Anarchism. He is a historian and member of the Kate Sharpley Library collective.

Jessica Moran, was an assistant editor of Emma Goldman: A Documentary History. She is a member of the Kate Sharpley Library collective and is an archivist currently living and working in New Zealand.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Editorial Note 13

Part I The Awakening and Its Toll

I The Call of Homestead 21

II The Seat of War 39

III The Spirit of Pittsburgh 45

IV The Attentat 49

V The Third Degree 53

VI The Jail 59

VII The Trial 95

Part II The Penitentiary

I Desperate Thoughts 101

II The Will to Live 111

III Spectral Silence 119

IV A Ray of Light 123

V The Shop 127

VI My First Letter 133

VII Wingie 137

VIII To the Girl 143

IX Persecution 147

X The Yegg 153

XI The Route Sub Rosa 165

XII "Zuchthausbluethen" 167

XIII The Judas 175

XIV The Dip 183

XV The Urge of Sex 187

XVI The Wardens Threat 193

XVII The "Basket" Cell 201

XVIII The Solitary 203

XIX Memory-Guests 213

XX A Day in the Cell-House 221

XXI The Deeds of the Good to the Evil 239

XXII The Grist of the Prison-Mill 245

XXIII The Scales of Justice 257

XXIV Thoughts That Stole Out of Prison 265

XXV How Shall the Depths Cry? 269

XXVI Hiding the Evidence 277

XXVII Love's Dungeon Flower 283

XXVIII For Safety 293

XXIX Dreams of Freedom 295

XXX Whitewashed Again 301

XXXI And By All Forgot, We Rot and Rot" 307

XXXII The Deviousness of Reform Law Applied 315

XXXIII The Tunnel 319

XXXIV The Death of Dick 325

XXXV An Alliance with the Birds 327

XXXVI The Underground 335

XXXVII Anxious Days 341

XXXVIII "How Men Their Brothers Maim" 347

XXXIX A New Plan of Escape 353

XL Done to Death 359

XLI The Shock at Buffalo 365

XLII Marred Lives 377

XLIII "Passing the Love of Woman" 385

XLIV Love's Daring 393

XLV The Bloom of "The Barren Staff" 399

XLVI A Child's Heart-Hunger 405

XLVII Chum 409

XLVIII Last Days 415

Part III The Workhouse 423

Part IV The Resurrection 431

Diary 1910-1911, 1916 457

Bibliography 507

Acknowledgments 509

Index 511

From the B&N Reads Blog
Page 1 of

Customer Reviews