Recent Books and Reviews Herald a Growing Field

Authors

  • John R. Whitman Creative Prisons Project

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33009/fsop_ijci140392

Keywords:

arts-in-corrections, books, prison arts

Abstract

The author presents a summary of recent books and reviews in the burgeoning field of arts-in-corrections.

Author Biography

John R. Whitman, Creative Prisons Project

John R. Whitman, PhD, teaches and consults in business and nonprofit management with a specialty in the social economy and applying educational strategies to solve social problems.

References

American Correctional Association. (1978). Arts in corrections: A summary of Project CULTURE and a handbook for program implementation. American Correctional Association.

Brewster, L., Bowers, J., & Brooks, L. (2025). New theoretical frameworks for designing and evaluating arts-in-corrections programs. In A. Gardner & L. Caulfield (Eds.), Arts in criminal justice and corrections: International perspectives on methods, journeys, and challenges (pp. 13–­ 28). Routledge.

Brewster, L., & Merts, P. (2015). Paths of discovery: Art practice and its impact in California prisons (2nd ed.). Self-published.

Buckley, A. (Ed.). (2024). Higher education and the carceral state. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003394426

Colvin, S. (2022). Shadowland: The story of Germany told by its prisoners. Reaktion Books.

Gardner, A., & Caulfield, L. (Eds.). (2024). Arts in criminal justice and corrections: International perspectives on methods, journeys, and challenges. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003401582

Gussak, D. E. (2013). Art on trial: Art therapy in capital murder cases. Columbia University Press.

Gussak, D. E. (2020). Art and art therapy with the imprisoned: Re-­creating identity. Routledge.

Gussak, D. E. (2022). The frenzied dance of art & violence. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/med-psych/9780190064495.001.0001

Gussak, D. E., & Virshup, E. (Eds.). (1997). Drawing time: Art therapy in prisons and other correctional settings. Magnolia Street Publishers.

Hillman, G. (2023). Arts in corrections: Thirty years of annotated publications. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003307983

Larson, D. (Ed.). (2013). Fourth city: Essays from the prison in America. Michigan State University Press.

Larson, D. (2024). Inside knowledge: Incarcerated people on the failures of the American prison. New York University Press.

Whitman, J. R. (2024a). Documenting a lifetime of prison arts [Review of the book Arts in Corrections: Thirty Years of Annotated Publications, by Hillman, G.]. UNESCO International Review of Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-024-10064-y

Whitman, J. R. (2024b). Inside knowledge [Review of the book Inside Knowledge: Incarcerated People on the Failures of the American Prison, by Larson, D.]. Howard Journal of Crime and Justice, 63(1), 120–­ 123. https://doi.org/10.1111/hojo.12553

Whitman, J. R. (2025a). The arts of prison cultures [Review of book Arts in Criminal Justice and Corrections: International Perspectives on Methods, Journeys, and Challenges, by Gardner, A. and Caulfield, L., eds.]. Cultural Trends. https://doi.org/10.1080/09548963.2025.2479149

Whitman, J. R. (2025b). A more perfect union [Review of book review The Norwegian Prison System: Halden Prison and Beyond, by Høidal, A. and Hanssen, N.]. The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice, 64(3), 415–­ 417. https://doi.org/10.1111/hojo.12620

Whitman, J. R. (2025c). Prisons of creativity: Artistic innovation during incarceration. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003566021

Whitman, J. R. (2025d). Putting art and violence on your dance card [Review of the book The Frenzied Dance of Art & Violence, by Gussak, D. E.] UNESCO International Review of Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-025-10182-1

Whitman, J. R. (2025e). Testimony of a prison arts evangelist [Review of the book Arts in Corrections: Thirty Years of Annotated Publications, by Hillman, G.]. Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 36(2), 389–­ 392. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511253.2024.2306812

Whitman, J. R. (2025f). Transforming prisons while transforming their residents [Review of the book Higher Education and the Carceral State: Transforming Together, by Buckley, A., ed.]. UNESCO International Review of Education (6 June 2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-025-10168-z

Cover image is a painting with the viewer’s perspective from inside a jail cell. Its concrete walls are broken, showing the world outside those walls with barb wire fences and a guard tower. But through the bars of the closed door one can see green grass, a leafy tree, and blue sky.

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Published

2026-05-20

How to Cite

Whitman, J. R. (2026). Recent Books and Reviews Herald a Growing Field. International Journal for Creativity Inside, 1(1), 78–89. https://doi.org/10.33009/fsop_ijci140392

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 1 (2026)

Section

Reviews

License

Copyright (c) 2026 John Whitman

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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