From behind the walls of a life sentence comes a voice that refuses to be silenced.
Jason Bales, serving life without parole in the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, offers a rare glimpse into the incarcerated mind through Gathering The Magic. This poetry collection is a study in contrasts: the raw ache of confinement versus the boundless freedom of imagination; the personal confession versus the commercial craft.
Inside this collection, you will find two distinct bodies of work:
The Ones Before: Deeply personal poems written from the cell. These verses speak to real figures-teachers, nurses, fellow inmates-and wrestle with themes of redemption, spirituality, delusion, and the quiet desperation of watching the world through a cell window.
The Ones That Follow: A fascinating shift into myth and metaphor. Written for commercial projects that never materialized, these poems explore wizards, jesters, cryptic ciphers, and alchemy. The author himself notes that while he "doesn't know" these poems, they reveal a different kind of truth about escape and transformation.
From the aching longing of "Good Bye Goat" to the sharp satire of "A Satirical Ode" and the hopeful fantasy of "The Spell of Freedom's Breath," Bales demonstrates a remarkable range. His work sits at the intersection of prison literature and visionary poetry, reminiscent of writers who use the harshest circumstances to fuel the most profound creativity.
Who this book is for:
Fans of authentic prison writing, readers interested in the psychology of incarceration, and anyone who believes that art can flourish even in the most barren soil. If you were moved by the works of Jimmy Santiago Baca or the letters of Martin Luther King Jr., Gathering The Magic will resonate deeply.
"I fill you with my heart and soul / Thoughts that no one else should know / The universe is guiding me / I hope that this will set me free."
外文書商品之書封，為出版社提供之樣本。實際出貨商品，以出版社所提供之現有版本為主。部份書籍，因出版社供應狀況特殊，匯率將依實際狀況做調整。
無庫存之商品，在您完成訂單程序之後，將以空運的方式為你下單調貨。為了縮短等待的時間，建議您將外文書與其他商品分開下單，以獲得最快的取貨速度，平均調貨時間為1~2個月。
為了保護您的權益，「三民網路書店」提供會員七日商品鑑賞期(收到商品為起始日)。
若要辦理退貨，請在商品鑑賞期內寄回，且商品必須是全新狀態與完整包裝(商品、附件、發票、隨貨贈品等)否則恕不接受退貨。
