Books Including ‘The Art of War’ and Amy Schumer’s Memoir Face Prohibition in U.S. Penitentiaries: Understanding the Reasons

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According to a recent study by PEN America, a multitude of books, ranging from self-help manuals to works of fiction by authors like Elmore Leonard, are either banned or restricted within U.S. correctional facilities. Moira Marquis, the lead author of the report and a senior manager in the Prison and Justice Writing Department at PEN, states that the underlying rationale for such censorship is the belief that certain ideas and information pose a security risk.

Released to coincide with the commencement of Prison Banned Books Week, the report, titled “Reading Between the Bars,” relies on a variety of sources. These include public records, communications with prison mailroom personnel, first-hand accounts from inmates, and difficulties faced by PEN in disseminating their prison writing guide, “The Sentences That Create Us: Crafting A Writer’s Life in Prison,” published last year.

The most frequently cited justifications for book bans by prison officials pertain to concerns over security and sexual content, broad categories that can be applied to a myriad of publications. For instance, Michigan’s list of restricted books features Leonard’s “Cuba Libre,” a thriller set just before the Spanish-American War of 1898, and Frederick Forsyth’s “The Day of the Jackal,” which explores an assassination attempt on French President Charles de Gaulle. Both works were deemed to potentially disrupt the order and security of the institution.

A spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Corrections informed The Big Big News that a newly established Literary Review Committee is reevaluating the restricted publication list to ascertain whether any items should be removed or continue to be restricted. Among the books facing restrictions, Amy Schumer’s memoir “The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo” was singled out by Florida authorities for containing explicit sexual content and posing a security risk within the correctional system.

The list of banned books is not limited to these examples. It also includes Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War,” the anthology “Prison Ramen: Recipes and Stories from Behind Bars,” Barrington Barber’s instructional guide “Anyone Can Draw,” and Robert Greene’s bestselling self-help book “48 Laws of Power.” Commenting on this issue, Greene described it as a manifestation of control and a form of extreme power manipulation.

The PEN report also identified correlations between the rates of book bans in prisons and those in schools and libraries. In Florida, where the organization estimates that over 40% of all library bans occurred in 2022, more than 22,000 books have been banned from prisons—the highest number among all states. Texas, another frequent offender, has more than 10,000 banned books in its prisons, the second-highest number after Florida.

Moreover, the actual number of banned books is likely greater than reported due to inconsistent or absent record-keeping by many states. For example, both Kentucky and New Mexico lack centralized databases of prohibited books. Efforts to raise awareness about such bans are largely localized and often helmed by volunteers, leaving a dearth of comprehensive, national analyses on the issue of prison censorship.

According to Marquis, restrictions can be categorized into content-specific and content-neutral bans. The former involves censoring books based on their content, while the latter restricts books because they do not come from approved channels. In several states, books can only be received through a select list of vendors, and some federal facilities enforce restrictions even on the type of packaging allowed for incoming books.

A spokesperson for the Idaho Department of Correction indicated that packaging restrictions were enacted in response to a growing problem of drug-laced mail, and emphasized that inmates could still receive books and periodicals at no cost from authorized sources.

The study “Reading Between the Bars” builds upon an earlier report by the non-profit newsroom the Marshall Project, and a 2019 PEN study. These reports collectively indicate that the regulations surrounding book restrictions within the U.S. penal system constitute the most expansive book ban policy in the country, affecting over two million incarcerated individuals. They also highlight that the practices of book banning in American prisons are systematic, pervasive, and often enacted with limited oversight.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about book banning in U.S. prisons

More about book banning in U.S. prisons

• PEN America Report on Book Banning
• The Marshall Project Study on Prison Book Bans
• U.S. Department of Corrections Policies on Restricted Publications
• Overview of Censorship in U.S. Prisons
• Statistics on U.S. Incarceration Rates
• Previous PEN America Report on Prison Book Restrictions (2019)
• Official Statement from Michigan Department of Corrections
• Florida Department of Corrections Restricted Publications List