Jane Guttman’s “Kids in Jail: A Portrait of Life Without Mercy” gives poetic voice to children who are trapped in the catacombs of society with little hope of resurrection. It is a gut-wrenching, graceful and dignified look at lives that are painfully scarred by conditions and circumstances that were preordained out of neglect, abuse, poverty, chance or a combination of all these elements.
It is not a light or easy read, but a necessary read. I had to put the book down on several occasions because the depth of despair, lack of hope and painful reality of these poems lit upon my nerves like a hammer. Too many of our children are trapped in inhumane conditions of juvenile prisons around our country. They are thrown away without the hope of redemption or rehabilitation even though leading brain development research shows that the brain is not fully developed until age 25. It was painful to read and absorb the stories of our nation’s greatest resource, our children, being subjected to a life without an opportunity to discover their true potential.
Each of the 13 poems has a preamble that gives a name and backstory for each incarcerated child and is followed by a quote that defines their personal struggle. Quotes from the likes of Kahlil Gibran, Harvey Milk and Luis J. Rodriguez beautifully encapsulate the spirit of each child, before you even begin to read their story in poem.
[For more on this story by Sheryl Teske, go to https://jjie.org/2018/06/22/a-...r-trauma-pain-anger/]
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