Committing Journalism: The Prison Writings of Red Hog

by Dannie Martin, Peter Y. Sussman

“One of the great political works of our time, a book that ought to be required reading for every American citizen. . . .” ― San Francisco Bay Guardian Committing Journalism collects more than fifty essays by famed convict-writer Dannie Martin, a.k.a. “Red Hog” ―hard-hitting, eloquent reports on the racism, brutality, inadequate health care, harassment, and other conditions of life behind the prison walls. When they first appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle they made Martin a celebrity―and eventually the Bureau of Prisons tried to silence him. Peter Sussman, Martin’s editor at the Chronicle , interweaves the story of their struggle, their collaboration, and their friendship. The result is a work of irrefutable witness, a gripping narrative, a book that gives a human face to America’s swelling prison population.

Genres: Nonfiction

344 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Alex Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm going to be honest, I was all ready to give this book four stars. It's really. It has a few flaws, but it's definitely worth reading if you're interested in journalism, first amendment trials, or prison reform (all somewhat outdated since this book is more than thirty years old, but still worth it). But the longer I read, the more I enjoyed it. I love this kind of thing. I love the topics. The writing, both by Dannie Martin and Peter Sussman, is fantastic. It's just so good and it kept getting better, and I can't deny that this was a full five stars for me.

Some brief flaws. This book glosses over the actual trial a lot. The time period of the trial is only about 35 pages of the book, and most of that is just what Dannie's going through. Apart from a few quotes, Sussman references there's a lot of discussion on abstract constitutional law happening and that's pretty much it. I wish there'd been more concrete information because I really enjoy law cases like that.

I was also a bit taken aback that Martin didn't have a voice in this book outside of his essays. The book is written entirely from Sussman's perspective and he includes a great number of Martin's essay that had been published (and at least one that wasn't), but in the narration, Martin has no voice. I really expected to hear from him some.

But on a whole, I just loved this. It took me an entire week to read because I was savoring it. I'd read a little and want to put it down so I could reflect on what I read. It was just like the perfect book for me.

I genuinely felt every aspect of this book was fascinating. I loved hearing about the behind the scenes of the paper and how Martin's articles came to be published. I loved hearing the behind the scenes about how his articles were written. I loved hearing about his general life, what prison was like for him and his inner thoughts. I loved getting details of the retaliation he experienced at the hands of prison officials because of his journalism. I loved the court case. It was all so fascinating.

There was a lot of discussion on prison reform. Outdated a bit, sure, but still entirely relevant today. He discusses overcrowding and healthcare, which are obvious to people on the outside, but he also discusses the bureaucracy they deal with on a regular basis, the rules that make no sense and change with each prison employee. It's all such worthwhile information and even beyond that, he's a great writer and shares the information so well.

I don't even know how to properly explain my enjoyment of this book. Just fantastic in every way. I expected to enjoy this, but I didn't expect how much. This is a book I could definitely see myself rereading in the future, and I don't often reread books like this.

I would recommend this, but I think you'd have to be pretty interested in journalism to really find this worthwhile. There are better and more timely books on prison reform, and more detailed books on first amendment law cases, but the bulk of this book really is about journalism. I think it's fantastic, though. So well written and compiled. One of the best books I've read so far this year.

[Ivana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nije mi bilo posebno zanimljivo budući da se većinom radi o Martinovim pričama iz zatvora. Dobro je štivo kao priprema nekome za odlazak u zatvor ili nekome tko želi više znati kako stvari funkcioniraju iz rešetaka, da se okvirno upozna sa zatvorskom kulturom, zakonitostima u takvom okruženju, načinu na koji promišljaju dugogodisnji zatvorenici i sl. Martin skroz OK piše s obzirom na razinu obrazovanja koju je imao i jasno mi je zašto se novinar zainteresirao za njegove tekstove, ali kao čitatelj nije mi pružio literarnu, ali ni posebno spoznaju satisfakciju.

[Benjamin Fasching-Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Annia Ciezadlo gave me this book around the time it came out, in the mid-90s. I finally read it twenty years later. There are lots of little stories in here, but mainly there are two big ones: a straight-up free speech battle and the story of an older convict humanizing himself and his fellow prisoners through his writing, that is, a journalism story and a prison story. The prison story is nice, lots of humor and folksy charm, a lighter side of a world you might know from Edward Bunker novels, so, not very light at all. The most interesting bits of that for me were the horror of returning to the early days of mass incarceration. When this book came out, mandatory sentences, three strikes laws and a general shift from a rehabilitation model to pure warehousing of prisoners were just starting to be felt. And it was the prisoners who felt them the most as prisons became overcrowded and prison culture spun out of control. I remember Annia was particularly impressed with the articles in here about forcing prisoners to take powerful psychotropics like Thorazine. That is pretty awful. Reading it 20 years later though, I feel like the author's wide-eyed, "hey, these 'tough-on-crime' laws are gonna bite you in the ass some day" makes an even bigger impression.

The journalism story surprised me, and although some reviewers were not as interested in the court cases and the first amendment issues, I don't think it is possible to separate the two stories. If there had been more reportage from prisons, and more people had paid attention to it, then we might not be where we are today, with a month long nationwide prisoner's strike going largely unreported as one presidential candidate calls for a return to "good old days" of even more violent policing and the other tries to live down a comment once made about "superpredators."

[Lindsay Duggan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I rounded up to 4 stars because I enjoyed the essays by Dannie Martin very much. The parts about the trial not as much. Prior to reading this book I would say I did not care at all about people in jail or how they were treated. If anything I thought they were treated too well. After reading this, I definitely have some empathy for prisoners. There is the question about whether prison should be for punishment or rehabilitation, and I believe it should be a bit of both. However, the current system makes it very difficult for prisoners to assimilate back into society upon release. Because of the treatment prisoners receive, they are often coming out much worse than they came in. This is a book I wouldn't have normally read except I received it from a friend, and I am glad that I did.

[Igor Franceško · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started reading it just after finishing OITNB (TV series) so the mood was set. I liked it, gave me a fair amount of understanding and insight in USA penal system and incarceration at the time of Red Hogs sentence. Doesn't seem to have changed much, even using a comedy/drama as OITNG for comparison.
I would recommend this book for anyone in the journalist/law world for it would be in their field of interest.

[Adrianna Grezak · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book in one of the dollar bins outside of The Strand and read the entire thing in a couple of sittings. It was one of those books I tried to read slower because I loved it so much. The book reminded me why I loved to read outside of school.

[Linda Marie Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book would be depressing, but Dannie Martin is funny and charming, while at the same time spotlighting aspects of prison life that are truly horrifying. Interesting and illuminating.

[Peter Y. Sussman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book ... and I'm speaking as an authority on the subject: I'm the co-author.

[Steve Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding tale.