Dana Edell

American Furies: Crime, Punishment, and Vengeance in the Age of Mass Imprisonment

admin — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 15:06:00 +0000

"When the annals of our era are written, the United States will… come to be defined as a prison state." Not to spoil the ending, but this is the last, haunting sentence of American Furies, Sasha Abramsky's scathing indictment of the U.S. prison system. If you still believe that America is a just democracy where everyone is treated equal, then you really have to read this book. I found myself laughing aloud in sour irony recently as President Bush commuted Scooter Libby's prison term because he felt that the thirty month sentence was "excessive." Tell that to Dan Johnson, an inmate that Abramsky profiles who is currently serving a twenty-eight years to life sentence for possession of a small amount of cocaine, his "third strike" drug offense in California.

I worked in womens' prisons and juvenile corrections institutions for six years and still found my jaw dropping at the absurdities and horrors described in this nightmare of a book. Whether describing female chain gangs in Arizona, the capitalistic rise of private prisons or the inhuman and torturous conditions in maximum security units, Abramsky conjures the human stories behind the headlines. He contextualizes the present prison crisis by outlining the history of incarceration in the U.S., beginning with the 18th century's silent prisons, through the rehabilitation movements of the 1960s and '70s and then the tough-on-crime backlash of the 1980s through today.

His statistics are damning: In some communities, more young men go to prison than go to college; the U.S. spends more money on criminal justice than on higher education; the U.S. incarcerates more people than any other industrialized nation; and on and on. He parallels political movements and social trends with the rise of the pro-prison "business," and tracks the "victim's rights" campaigns and their harsh effects on sentencing. Though a comprehensive whirlwind of stories, statistics and interviews, at under 200 pages, I felt that he left out some crucial feminist issues, such as the rise in female inmates, particularly girls, and the effects of parents' incarceration on children.

But don't dismiss this book as just another scathing rant about how screwed up the system is. Abramsky knows how to write a story and his imagery, intellect, passion and anger bleed through each chapter. I kept naively waiting, though, for that magic finale where he offers hope and solutions for our nation's violently oppressive present situation. Though it's no happy-ending fairy tale, _American Furies _serves as a fierce warning of the self-perpetuating cycle of violence we ascribe to if we continue to let prisons replace schools as the incubators for our future.

Written by: Dana Edell, July 31st 2007

Awake in the Wild: Mindfulness in Nature as a Path of Self-Discovery

admin — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 12:58:00 +0000

By Mark Coleman

Inner Ocean Publishing

"The teachings and practices of this book will come alive only if you leave the comfort of your home and explore the natural world, which is always beckoning, just outside your front door." I read this first chapter of Mark Coleman's Awake in the Wild with a chuckle as I release my clutching grasp on the sticky New York City subway pole to turn the page of his book of Buddhist meditations. Sweaty bodies press against me as I struggle to be present in the moment and find my centered breath. Full disclosure: I have never meditated, never read a book on Buddhism, never traveled to India. My only Eastern spiritual experiences have been in yoga classes in Brooklyn where I usually leave early to rush to work on time.

So it is with particular sincerity that I recommend Coleman's book. I found that halfway through his organized musings on the importance of nature in our lives, I was pausing in the street to watch the sun set between the Manhattan skyscrapers and touching the bark of trees along the sidewalk to feel the energy emanating from the trunk. This book is an easy-to-follow, illuminating and inspiring guide to not just enjoy nature, but to really understand the necessity of finding the time to go outside. The meditations are simply outlined and definitely accessible to the first-timers as well as more seasoned Buddhist practitioners. Each section suggests different and unique ways of engaging with the natural world and includes specific actions and meditations to practice on your own whether you live on a foggy mountaintop or in a concrete metropolis.

Before I write too much more about my discovery of my inner wood nymph, I do admit that there were still quite a few eye rolls as I read about how watching a flock of geese or staring into rippling water can make your troubles gallop away. But after relishing the final pages, I am left with a new appreciation and respect for the power and beauty of the natural world and also a lingering sadness at the rate in which we are moving away from relationships with the wild and more towards virtual ones. Coleman will inspire you to flip shut your laptop's floating cloud screensaver, and go outside to breath in the real thing.

Written by: Dana Edell, June 2nd 2007

A Simple Distance

admin — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 13:14:00 +0000

By K. E. Silva

Akashic Books

"All this speaking for others had me losing my own voice," states Jean, the conflicted lesbian attorney with mommy issues in A Simple Distance, K. E. Silva's luscious, tropical/San Francisco novel. In less than 200 rich and delicious pages, Silva layers a bold and romantic tale of family betrayal, lust, politics and the ever-poignant quest for a place one can call home.

Cracked like a coconut, Jean is hard and coarse on the outside, wrapped snugly in her thick skin. Though hidden inside, her sweetness and urge for lasting love and social justice push through her rough exterior. A civil-rights lawyer in San Francisco (are there really any other kind of lawyers in San Francisco?), she is obligated to sacrifice her own beliefs in order to defend her client. Her work life bleeds into her personal life as she finds herself holding her tongue in almost every situation - except when it's dancing in the mouth of a spunky female doctor on the homophobic West Indian island where her family's name is currency. Her secretly illicit love affair, when exposed, shakes the palm trees of the island and challenges her conservative, traditional family to cling to their history or confront the present. Jean's relationship to her mother, to her race, to her job and to her lover are thrust to the forefront as she is forced to not only stay afloat, but navigate through the tumultuous waters of her history.

The novel brings to the surface that triplet of issues: race, class and gender though Silva's deeply drawn characters give a unique voice that screams louder than the politics. Though there are a few moments of cliché, in the end Silva doesn't let anyone off the hook so easily. Her sharp yet ravishing language caresses her story and conjures glorious yet flawed characters swimming in contradictions as they splash through love, prejudice, pride and revenge in their journey to find that place called home.

Written by: Dana Edell, March 22nd 2007

The Lion Perfume Oil Blend

admin — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 13:20:00 +0000

By Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

When I first opened the vial of "Lion" perfume oil blend, I admit I expected to be olfactory swept away into a sultry, musky, jungle fantasy. I actually had to really poke my nose in the bottle to experience this scent. Though subtle, it does possess a darkly romantic, mysteriously gentle musk. I doused my wrists and went off into my day to test how long this whispery oil could last, especially in the windy dryness of winter. I was delightedly surprised that it not only held its scent for hours, but seemed to release subtler incense-like aromas—though the thick amber bottle is plenty sturdy to toss in your bag for re-applications throughout the day.

The other three oils that I sampled are "Séance," a uniquely pungent blend that smells a little like cough syrup (but not in an entirely bad way!); "Whip," which reminds me of those classic feminine perfumes my grandmother wore; and "The Reaper and the Flowers," a delightfully bold floral blend evoking lilacs and wildflowers.

Curious about their gothic, black, flaming phoenix packaging, I visited their website and was immediately intrigued! They boast an impressive assortment of love potions, voodoo blends and tarot oils; many of their product descriptions include dark, erotic poetry and incantations. I know you shouldn't buy your perfume based on its name or its packaging, but I'm fascinated by this company, and it might not hurt to order some "Fire of Love" oil!

Written by: Dana Edell, March 20th 2007