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Discourse #3
The Parameters of Our Cage
In January 2020, Alec Soth received a letter from Chris Fausto Cabrera, an inmate of the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Rush City, in which he asked the photographer to engage in a dialogue. This sparked an expansive and insightful correspondence over the following nine months which, set against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, Black Lives Matter Movement and growing unrest, reaches to the heart of contemporary America. In amongst their exchanges of personal histories and shared influences – from Ralph Ellison’s The Invisible Man and André 3000, to Robert Frank’s The Americans and Rilke’s 'Letters to a Young Poet' – developed a searing investigation of the redemptive power of art and the imagination, justice and accountability, life inside America’s prisons, and the astonishing capacity of empathy and curiosity to bring two people together.
- GenresPhotographyNonfictionArt
128 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2020
21 people are currently reading
260 people want to read
About the author
Alec Soth
59 books37 followersAlec Soth (b. 1969) is a photographer born and based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has published over thirty books including Sleeping by the Mississippi (2004), NIAGARA (2006), Broken Manual (2010), Songbook (2015), I Know How Furiously Your Heart is Beating (2019), A Pound of Pictures (2022), and Advice for Young Artists (2024).
Soth has had over fifty solo exhibitions including survey shows organized by Jeu de Paume in Paris (2008), the Walker Art Center in Minnesota (2010), Media Space in London (2015), and the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum (2024). Soth has been the recipient of numerous fellowships and awards, including the Guggenheim Fellowship (2013). In 2008, Soth created Little Brown Mushroom, a multi-media enterprise focused on visual storytelling. Soth is represented by Sean Kelly in New York, Weinstein Hammons Gallery in Minneapolis, Fraenkel Gallery in San Francisco, Loock Galerie in Berlin, and is a member of Magnum Photos.
Soth has had over fifty solo exhibitions including survey shows organized by Jeu de Paume in Paris (2008), the Walker Art Center in Minnesota (2010), Media Space in London (2015), and the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum (2024). Soth has been the recipient of numerous fellowships and awards, including the Guggenheim Fellowship (2013). In 2008, Soth created Little Brown Mushroom, a multi-media enterprise focused on visual storytelling. Soth is represented by Sean Kelly in New York, Weinstein Hammons Gallery in Minneapolis, Fraenkel Gallery in San Francisco, Loock Galerie in Berlin, and is a member of Magnum Photos.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
November 29, 2020
Ended reading this book with tears running down my cheeks, the good kind where you feel connected, inspired, and in awe that I’ve also been lucky enough to have art at the center of my life. The words written by both authors are so honest, it makes me want to write more myself. This book is beautiful- I want everyone I love to read it.
November 23, 2020
Phenomenal. What a beautiful exchange between two artists.
“We are entering a time of greatness — where we can examine our cages and confront that our parameters can be limitless when we connect with ‘others’.”
“We are entering a time of greatness — where we can examine our cages and confront that our parameters can be limitless when we connect with ‘others’.”
November 18, 2020
Once I picked this book up, I couldn’t put it down. That’s never happened to me before. From the moment I began reading, I became enveloped in the profound conversations between Fausto and Alec. The relevance of this book to our ubiquitous struggles in 2020 is astounding and made me feel very sanguine. It is truly moving. My favorite book used to be Into the Wild by John Krakauer, but as of today, it is now The Parameters of our Cage.
July 25, 2021
Against a backdrop of a global pandemic and systemic violence, a time when the United Stated is the posterchild for a nation divided and the recurring themes of many critically-acclaimed stories are alienation, disconnection and decline, this book is miraculous.
Against all odds, an incarcerated man, simultaneously a victim and a perpetrator, chooses compassion over hate and thus changes his "sentence" in both a figurative and literal way. He faces the "parameters of his cage" and is able to find hope and artistic expression despite them. He changes the "sentence" -"the shorthand we use to describe someone"- from purely a story of incarceration to one of freedom through art, connection and compassion.
Simultaneously, the photographer Alec performs a feat of personal bravery by responding to the letter of someone he has never met. He is able to see beyond the simple facts to the complex being on the other end of the line~ even through distance and separation, they make an unlikely friendship. They are able to hold space for each other, be vulnerable, and have difficult discussions that others might shy away from in fear.
This story offers hope through dialogue, through personal revelation, and through compassionate practice. To Fausto and Alec- thank you for this gift. May we all follow your example when confronted with the bars at the limits of ourselves.
Against all odds, an incarcerated man, simultaneously a victim and a perpetrator, chooses compassion over hate and thus changes his "sentence" in both a figurative and literal way. He faces the "parameters of his cage" and is able to find hope and artistic expression despite them. He changes the "sentence" -"the shorthand we use to describe someone"- from purely a story of incarceration to one of freedom through art, connection and compassion.
Simultaneously, the photographer Alec performs a feat of personal bravery by responding to the letter of someone he has never met. He is able to see beyond the simple facts to the complex being on the other end of the line~ even through distance and separation, they make an unlikely friendship. They are able to hold space for each other, be vulnerable, and have difficult discussions that others might shy away from in fear.
This story offers hope through dialogue, through personal revelation, and through compassionate practice. To Fausto and Alec- thank you for this gift. May we all follow your example when confronted with the bars at the limits of ourselves.
May 11, 2021
fausto has changed my worldview in so few pages. i’m absolutely floored, shocked and utterly moved by his literary eloquence. i wish him lifelong peace surrounded always by love. aint no peace til we all get a piece. i suspect i will be rereading this over this course of my life or at the very least my twenties
April 11, 2021
“everything about this book has been a reminder of the generous creative spirit that resists being stomped out by the hardness of the world”
July 28, 2021
The parameters of our cage … onze kooi …
September 3, 2021
This is not a long read but absolutely fascinating and the exchange between the two photographers/authors explores themes of identity, justice and redemption as well as art and meaning-making with depth, love and humanity.
December 10, 2020
Thank you Alec and Chris for sharing a glimpse into your conversations, your thoughts, and your heartfelt friendship. It was wonderful to read.
January 17, 2021
"I'm so afraid of being taken for a fool. I've forgotten how good it feels to let go."
Engaging and moving - very nice as a reflection on 2020 and everything else.
Engaging and moving - very nice as a reflection on 2020 and everything else.
January 18, 2021
If you read anything this year it should be this book. Quick read and incredibly impactful!
February 3, 2021
“You are a story teller, and, for me, that is more essential to your “sentence” than your crime.”
April 2, 2025
“It all boils down to limits, huh? Whether enforced by nature — biologic or social, tangible or abstract, we all confront the parameters of our cage eventually. What we do when we reach those bars helps define us…”
Longing – to escape, to achieve, to ruminate on things that could have been, to meet, to go back to the past, to change, to wish, and to know that somethings would forever be missed. A short life – not as important or significant as we make in our heads – yet to be lived. This book is about friendship between a photographer and a prisoner – and communicated through letters, mostly. Its genuine, its harsh – and its beautiful, with some quotable quotes:
“I’m always drawn to photographs with windows. For me, they speak to the quality of longing that drew me to photography in the first place.”
“This photo was the only way I could hear my mom’s laugh from in here.”
“There is a function to nostalgia I can’t necessarily afford to keep around right now given the limits to my property.”
“I think there is a debt we owe to our suffering, or to the source of our longings. Art as pure escapism is valuable, but there is a point where it can become delusion.”
“Surprisingly, during my 170 days of solitary confinement, I learnt that it’s easier to have inner thoughts when you’re alone. And not only without people, but alone without any triggers that push you to think outside of yourself… I managed to live a full and interesting life without anything, because the radical situation I was in pushed me to go inside my dreams and live daily — day after day — a rich, crazy, and wonderful life. With the help and comfort of the temptations around us, we are alienated from ourselves.”
“My ideal distance for making a portrait is about the length of a seesaw — close enough to exchange energy, but far enough to properly visualize separateness.”
“I think what draws us to art is the depth of reflection.”
“There is an elasticity to the human soul you never confront until it’s stretched.”
“…a suspension of disbelief that makes our approach to life like watching a magic trick: you must buy into the illusion in order to be swept up in the wonderment.”
“I can’t even imagine who I’d be without my ability to see in my dark — all the beauty I’ve discovered!”
“Never forget that justice is what love looks like in public.”
“Perhaps I was looking more for the aura of your life rather than the specificity of your appearance.”
A book that deserves to be re-read.
Longing – to escape, to achieve, to ruminate on things that could have been, to meet, to go back to the past, to change, to wish, and to know that somethings would forever be missed. A short life – not as important or significant as we make in our heads – yet to be lived. This book is about friendship between a photographer and a prisoner – and communicated through letters, mostly. Its genuine, its harsh – and its beautiful, with some quotable quotes:
“I’m always drawn to photographs with windows. For me, they speak to the quality of longing that drew me to photography in the first place.”
“This photo was the only way I could hear my mom’s laugh from in here.”
“There is a function to nostalgia I can’t necessarily afford to keep around right now given the limits to my property.”
“I think there is a debt we owe to our suffering, or to the source of our longings. Art as pure escapism is valuable, but there is a point where it can become delusion.”
“Surprisingly, during my 170 days of solitary confinement, I learnt that it’s easier to have inner thoughts when you’re alone. And not only without people, but alone without any triggers that push you to think outside of yourself… I managed to live a full and interesting life without anything, because the radical situation I was in pushed me to go inside my dreams and live daily — day after day — a rich, crazy, and wonderful life. With the help and comfort of the temptations around us, we are alienated from ourselves.”
“My ideal distance for making a portrait is about the length of a seesaw — close enough to exchange energy, but far enough to properly visualize separateness.”
“I think what draws us to art is the depth of reflection.”
“There is an elasticity to the human soul you never confront until it’s stretched.”
“…a suspension of disbelief that makes our approach to life like watching a magic trick: you must buy into the illusion in order to be swept up in the wonderment.”
“I can’t even imagine who I’d be without my ability to see in my dark — all the beauty I’ve discovered!”
“Never forget that justice is what love looks like in public.”
“Perhaps I was looking more for the aura of your life rather than the specificity of your appearance.”
A book that deserves to be re-read.
Read
January 23, 2022This short book, (or discourse ) was recommended and lent to my by my son .
‘The Parameters of our Cage’ consists of an edited series of letters between a long term prisoner (Chris) and a photographer (Alec) between Jan and October 2020. They correspond against the backdrop of the well known significant events of this year.
This book taught me that we are all confined to the parameters of our own cage, not necessarily the physical cages that one may expect with prison or health say, but also our mental , emotional (through the trauma of life ) or perhaps perception from others or our own. We are more than our sentence.. ‘ the guy who killed the kid’, ‘the girl in a wheelchair’, ‘the woman with 5 kids’, ‘the drop out’, but assigning sentences to ourselves we can limit our parameters (of our cage) however, conversely someone imprisoned by physical walls, (the prisoner) , may live with greater freedom through dreams or the imagination of art/ photography.
This really is a fabulous book. I couldn’t critique it anyway that would be meaningful as I suspect the reader will take from this book that that resonates with their own lives, at that time - be it physical confinement, trauma, depression, a love of art or friendship. The above paragraph was only what I took from it. Theres also insights into human empathy, depression and justice.
I also suspect reading this discourse in a different mood, season, time and / or age and I would take something more or perhaps entirely different from it.
I highly recommend.
‘The Parameters of our Cage’ consists of an edited series of letters between a long term prisoner (Chris) and a photographer (Alec) between Jan and October 2020. They correspond against the backdrop of the well known significant events of this year.
This book taught me that we are all confined to the parameters of our own cage, not necessarily the physical cages that one may expect with prison or health say, but also our mental , emotional (through the trauma of life ) or perhaps perception from others or our own. We are more than our sentence.. ‘ the guy who killed the kid’, ‘the girl in a wheelchair’, ‘the woman with 5 kids’, ‘the drop out’, but assigning sentences to ourselves we can limit our parameters (of our cage) however, conversely someone imprisoned by physical walls, (the prisoner) , may live with greater freedom through dreams or the imagination of art/ photography.
This really is a fabulous book. I couldn’t critique it anyway that would be meaningful as I suspect the reader will take from this book that that resonates with their own lives, at that time - be it physical confinement, trauma, depression, a love of art or friendship. The above paragraph was only what I took from it. Theres also insights into human empathy, depression and justice.
I also suspect reading this discourse in a different mood, season, time and / or age and I would take something more or perhaps entirely different from it.
I highly recommend.
June 16, 2025
This was a book I finished incredibly quickly. I loved its conversational tone and the medium of letters alongside the inclusion of a few well-chosen photographs, and I really felt like I knew Fausto and Alec well by the end of the work. It's a book that feels very human and knows exactly what it was about. I was a tad put off by the first few letters for reasons I can't quite articulate--I guess it's just something about how quickly these people got to know each other and how soon they discussed very personal subjects--but as the work progressed I increasingly enjoyed it and came to understand why these compiled letters, specifically, were the ones chosen for publication. Some of the work's insights were genuinely useful, and I could certainly see this as a period piece for readers a bit more removed from our time.
August 22, 2021
I loved this book, especially the voice of Fausto. Aspects of Sloth and Fausto's relationship initially grated as they seemed to mirror power imbalances in society - Sloth's request to address Fausto as Chris despite his earlier expalanation of why he wishes to use the name Fausto, Sloth's making an overture to a publisher before consulting Fausto, his use of Fausto's description of imagined photographs to run a competition without asking, and his reticence to share personal information in contrast with his constant requests that Fausto share his own story. However the result of most of these actions was that Fausto was the centre of the story and could perhaps be 'seen' in a way that had not felt possible previously. This book was so thought provoking I could not put it down.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 20, 2020
This is an amazing book. Alec Soth, a professional photographer starts a conversation mostly through letters with Chris Fausto Cabrera, an inmate at a Minnesota prison at Chris's instigation. They discuss taking photos, what it's like to be in prison, art, depression and many more things. They talk about specific photos which are included in the book. The time period covers about 9 months in 2020. The discussions are profound, and the relationship is touching and has great meaning for both. Don't miss this if you are interested in photography, justice, friendship, or humanity.
March 31, 2021
Alec Soth’s correspondence with an inmate through last year. Alec is a photographer and Fausto a creative writer, and they dwell into their creative motivations, their process and opinions on current affairs.
It’s probably their empathy that attracts me to these two artists, what makes them express something about the human condition. I ended up underlining more passages on Fausto’s letters than in Alec’s and I have to say that is some achievement: I think Alec is one of my all time great artistic inspirations.
It’s probably their empathy that attracts me to these two artists, what makes them express something about the human condition. I ended up underlining more passages on Fausto’s letters than in Alec’s and I have to say that is some achievement: I think Alec is one of my all time great artistic inspirations.
January 14, 2022
What a time period to capture the experience of being incarcerated in Minnesota. The book elapsed over the beginning of the COVID pandemic and also includes the penpals’ immediate reactions to George Floyd’s murder and the uprising. This book was sweet and hopeful while also necessarily heavy and dark when talking about the criminal justice system. It’s poetic without being too heavy handed and makes the reader reflect on life in and outside of the prison system.
January 15, 2021
What a profound, wonderful book.
I am struck by how insightful and moving these letters are, though the book does not feel as though it was designed with the intent to be a national best-seller, or to gain enormous popularity. They are able to seamlessly connect art and creativity with the events happening in our present society.
A must-read for everyone.
I am struck by how insightful and moving these letters are, though the book does not feel as though it was designed with the intent to be a national best-seller, or to gain enormous popularity. They are able to seamlessly connect art and creativity with the events happening in our present society.
A must-read for everyone.
May 12, 2024
The depth and vulnerability of this exchange of letters was humbling. In their efforts to reach toward connection, I feel like the writers have given me a pieces of themselves to carry away from this reading. I think of how brave Carrera was, sending that first ask into the dark universe: hear me, see me. What a gift to get a view into this conversation.
January 23, 2021
This is a very thought provoking book. I learned so much by following their written discussions and hearing their perspectives. I could easily imagine taking a college philosophy course, with a letter by or two being covered each week.
April 29, 2021
Incredibly prescient read.
"It all boils down to limits, huh? Whether enforced by nature-- biological, or social, tangible or abstract, we all confront the parameters of our cage eventually. What we do when we reach those bars helps define us, huh."
"It all boils down to limits, huh? Whether enforced by nature-- biological, or social, tangible or abstract, we all confront the parameters of our cage eventually. What we do when we reach those bars helps define us, huh."
May 4, 2021
Marvelous little book yet very profound. On empathy, prison, personal history and art at the heart of human connection. To read and reread.
“Think of the photograph as a diving board and then jump into a pool of thoughts.”
“Think of the photograph as a diving board and then jump into a pool of thoughts.”
November 24, 2025
This book has been an unexpected treasure. It reminded me how, with simple words, you can speak about abstract things too. It’s so earnest, pure, and unfiltered that at times it was uncomfortable to read, like looking directly at the sun without sunglasses. I truly recommend it.
November 29, 2020
just absolutely incredible. words can’t do it justice.
December 25, 2020
A beautiful and approachable book about art, life, justice, and the year 2020. Hope to read more from these two in the future.
May 22, 2021
I loved this book - a correspondence between a photographer and an incarcerated artist. Full of exchanges about life, relating to others and art. This also took place during the pandemic
July 1, 2025
I love community and art and photography and love and hardship
October 29, 2022
Life-changing and life-affirming.
This will stay with me for a long time. A gift from a close friend, it will now be my gift to all my close friends too. An absolute documentation of our time and the struggles faced legally, psychologically, societal and moral. Do read this. It should be a set text in all schools.
This will stay with me for a long time. A gift from a close friend, it will now be my gift to all my close friends too. An absolute documentation of our time and the struggles faced legally, psychologically, societal and moral. Do read this. It should be a set text in all schools.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews