Running in Place: A Year in the Life and Letters of a Prisoner

by L. Lambert Lawson

I’ve been locked up for twelve years
with twelve to go. Some friends
have just faded away,
and some have just passed away.
And now I find myself in need
of friendship,
companionship,
or even just getting a letter at mail call
once in a while.

So begins our journey in Running in A Year in the Life and Letters of a Prisoner. Culled from a year's correspondence with his pen pal serving time in a federal penitentiary, L. Lambert Lawson frames a window into the heart of a man who's done wrong and is in the process of rehabilitating. In a series of 78 found poems, readers become close to this man--learn about his hopes, his failings, and his day-to-day life--and get an unforgettable glimpse into the life of a man they would never have known.

103 pages, Nook

First published June 6, 2011

About the author

L. Lambert lived and worked as a teacher of English with the Peace Corps in Ukraine from 2005 to 2007. When he wasn’t learning Ukrainian or observing pro-democracy political rallies, he was writing about his experiences.

His most recently published work, Running in Place: A Year in the Life and Letters of a Prisoner, is a collection of found poems culled from a year's correspondence L. Lambert had with a pen pal of his who is serving time in a federal penitentiary.

L. Lambert’s non-fiction work about his Peace Corps experience was nominated for the 2007 Pushcart Prize. As well, an excerpt of When a Lobster Whistles in the Mountains: A Peace Corps Honeymoon in Ukraine, will be published in Peace Corps at 50, a four volume collection of stories celebrating the 50th anniversary of Peace Corps, in 2011. His work has also been published in various Peace Corps publications, including Worldview magazine and “In The Field” magazine, and his fiction has been published at Perigee.

He is hard at work currently writing SFF short stories.

Reviews

[Julianne Dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was quite a powerful read. I really enjoyed the concept of "found" poetry and truly hearing this man's voice. You could almost hear the letters written to him as well. As Lawson says in the afterword, it is beautiful to give a voice to someone our society has given up on.

[Tori · Rating 5 out of 5]

I try to be stingy with the 5 star reviews, but I felt like this was really insightful to be such a quick read. I hadn't heard of "found poetry" before. It was an interesting way to present the letters.

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was very good & I love the author

[L. Lawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked it because it's good, but also because I wrote it. :D