Correctional

by Ravi Shankar

The first time Ravi Shankar was arrested, he spoke out against racist policing on National Public Radio and successfully sued the city of New York. The second time, he was incarcerated when his promotion to full professor was finalized. During his ninety-day pretrial confinement at the Hartford Correctional Center—a level 4, high-security urban jail in Connecticut—he met men who shared harrowing and heart-felt stories. The experience taught him about the persistence of structural racism, the limitations of mass media, and the pervasive traumas of twenty-first-century daily life.
 
Shankar’s bold and complex self-portrait—and portrait of America—challenges us to rethink our complicity in the criminal justice system and mental health policies that perpetuate inequity and harm. Correctional dives into the inner workings of his mind and heart, framing his unexpected encounters with law and order through the lenses of race, class, privilege, and his bicultural upbringing as the first and only son of South Indian immigrants. Vignettes from his early life set the scene for his spectacular fall and subsequent struggle to come to terms with his own demons. Many of them, it turns out, are also our own.

Genres: Memoir

232 pages, Hardcover

Published January 4, 2022

About the author

Ravi Shankar (born 1975) is an American poet. He was raised in Manassas, VA. He is the poet-in-residence at Central Connecticut State University and the founding editor of the online journal of the arts, Drunken Boat. His first book, Instrumentality, was published by Cherry Grove in May 2004, and was a finalist for the 2005 Connecticut Book Awards. He co-wrote Wanton Textiles with Reb Livingston, selections of which were published in Fringe Magazine and Beltway Poetry Quarterly. His chapbook Voluptuous Bristle, was published by Finishing Line Press in 2010.

Shankar received his bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia and his master's degree in poetry from Columbia University's School of the Arts. Shankar's poetry has been published in such places as The Massachusetts Review, The Cortland Review, and The New Hampshire Review. His critical work has appeared in The Iowa Review, among other publications. He co-edited an anthology of contemporary Arab and Asian poetry, along with poets Tina Chang and Nathalie Handal, published by Norton in Spring 2008.

Shankar reviews poetry for the Contemporary Poetry Review. He has been a commentator for WFCR (Public Radio) and a judge for various poetry competitions. [wikipedia]

Reviews

[Darya Silman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Due to his recklessness, Ravi Shankar witnessed the application of the new Jim Crow order in American prisons and summarized this unpleasant experience in his book Correctional.

On the outside, Ravi Shankar was a stereotypical Indian, born to immigrants from India, who excelled at everything, from spelling contests to a happy marriage with two kids. However, on the inside, the author couldn't reconcile two sides of his inner world. Who was he? An obedient son of a strict father or a petty shoplifter? Will he always belong to the struggling majority of poor publishers and poets? Will he be able to break the glass ceiling and become one of the elite? His journey toward imprisonment in HCC (Hartford Correctional Center) started through the powers of three poisons that got hold of him: delusion, greed, and hatred. The author wholeheartedly invites readers into his experience of dealing with being a colored convict (though for only 90 days) in America.

The form in which the memoir is constructed is uncommon: each logical part of the book starts with a letter to one or another loved one: children, ex-wife, parents, etc. Each segment corresponds to one season in India (6 seasons, not four, as in Europe or America). The author also doesn't strictly stick to the chronological principle. The book's events start after the incarceration and its hurtful consequences, and the story goes back and forth in time, depicting, in one instance, a teenager, then a convict, entering the prison for the first time. Despite these time jumps, the author never goes out of style, one of deep reflection on the events with no hatred or anger toward oneself. Apparently, the author found his peace and wants to bring the same clarity to his loved ones, who were also affected by the author's actions.

I recommend the book if you are ready to intimately know another person's soul. The book's beauty lies in calmness, its strength in acceptance of one's actions.

I received an advance review copy from BookSirens, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A writer's gonna write. Put a writer in an unusual, even unpleasant situation, and you are giving them material for their next book. In fact, writers have to write. On his first day in jail, during Orientation, Shankar risks punishment by neglecting to surrender the tiny pencil he has been loaned.

Shankar's account of his fall from grace and what he learned from being in jail makes for a compulsive, thought-provoking read. Yes, he made a series of bad choices, as many of us do -- without getting caught -- and he paid his debt to society, but did the media really have to pile on so hard? As Shankar writes at the beginning of the book, "This is the song to set all that shit straight."

I found the minutiae of jail life fascinating, and I was moved by Shankar's portrayals of his inmates, many of whom would probably never find success on the outside due to zero attempts at rehabilitation. Shankar writes, "Here are men, jettisoned as as a criminal, hunched over a pad to draw a unicorn with colored pencils..."

While I was reading this, I described the "plot" to my dad, and he said "That sounds like a movie." The more I think about it, the more he's right, so hey, NetFlix, how about "The Chair" meets "Prison Break"? I think you'd have a winner.

[Monika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ravi Shankar has been one of my favourite poets for a very long time but this memoir is of another order completely - raw, honest, lyrical, sharp and quite possibly will be one of the best books released in 2021. I have read excerpts and can’t wait for this book to be published. I appreciate someone who is able to turn personal tragedy into literary gold. Reminds me of Mary Karr, Lucy Greeley, Tobias Wolff and Dave Eggers combined with some serious writing about India and the prison industrial complex. I imagine “Correctional” to be both truly global AND an essentially American memoir of the most exceptional quality - Black Lives Matter but so do Asian Lives!

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Upon starting "Correctional" the only things I knew about Ravi Shankar were the ones briefly mentioned in the synopsis. So, when I started reading, I was thinking Ravi should be a writer. Then of course you find out that Ravi IS a writer, and it is one of the most beautiful examples of someone finding their passion and then following it. Of someone being meant to do something.

Ravi's story is heartbreaking and infuriating at different times as well as really hopeful. Reading this you might feel sorry for RS one sentence, and angry with him the next. And then two paragraphs later you are seeing how every single thing ties together with the larger, almost invisible picture of American history: patriarchy, white supremacy, toxic masculinity, systemic racism, especially, in this case, in the American carceral system.

Ravi does an excellent job of pointing out when he has been guilty of not just the crimes he was accused, but of implicit ones that come from growing up in America and as a man, as a man of color, as a man of color but not a Black man of color. Ravi works to point out inequities within the system and his own life but also that he is part of perpetuating as well and working to correct them.

This is ultimately a story of how American history has bled into present day and Ravi's hope that we can all begin to work together to change our society and become a more loving, better people.

My favorite part, while obviously not a great time for Ravi, was his time in jail and discovering that even he held prejudices against those in jail and realizing that they were unfounded. Realizing that a large reason the prisons and jails in America are so bad is because they are for profit and designed to create reoffenders to continue making money. This does a disservice to the jailed as well as to America as a whole.

This is one of those books that should really be read by everyone to gain a better understanding of your peers who may not look like you. It's an important story.

I received this review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Kiran Bhat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Correctional is a memoir by poet Ravi Shankar detailing two stints in prison after the committing of some minor crimes. Shankar interweaves his experiences as a bicultural author born under the premise of doing great good to the world and his parents, and then the sense of disappointment and betrayal he feels as he continually screws up. Letters fragment the story and give confession to Shankar's guilt towards his loved ones. The story feels very much written by a poet as almost every sentence has a conscious sense of refinement. It's overall a riveting tale. It's hard to justify the small mistakes of Shankar, yet feels a lot of pathos for the author and what he went through.

[Nima Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An honest, eye-opening, well-written, and fascinating memoir. I am grateful to have read this book to learn about the system and how this could really happen to anyone. Would highly recommend this book.

[Peejay(Pamela) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this memoir in preparation for seeing the author talk at a local venue. A well-told reflection on otherness, the corrections and judicial systems in the US, being a first generation American of immigrants, and more. A lot is packed in here!
I was fortunate to be seated with Ravi at the dinner following the talk: he is even more engaging and interesting in person!

[Cavak · Rating 4 out of 5]

In all honesty, I wanted to slug Shankar during the first half of Correctional. He characterized his past self as someone who victim blamed at every turn, remained toxically insecure about his identity, and lacked a great deal of self-awareness or gratitude for anything in his life. He was very blind to many of his life's blessings and privileges. Shankar half-jokingly said he soapboxed early in. Much milder term than I would have used.

Yet I'm glad I hung in there to read about Shankar's personal growth. It's coming from a place of sincerity during the second half. He's candid about what he's been through, and I like that he doesn't hide how his hardships don't magically end once he "serves his time." I think in some ways he still approaches his life with distance and a degree of separation. Given how recently these earthshattering events happened to him, it's understandable.

I'm glad Shankar shared the stories about the men he met while he was incarcerated. He's right in there's a good chance he may be the only one who can tell their stories. There are online projects where prisoners can post their words as blogs online (Between the Bars and Inmate Blogger to name two), but they're not mainstream by any means. Worse, what about the ones who can't read or write, or can't afford an envelope and stamps, or have no friends or family to help them? If you don't know where to look, they may as well not exist.

And that's rather tragic.

Here's hoping he keeps trying to work towards reform as well. It's one of many ongoing problems within North America that isn't really acknowledged at all. Anyone who tries to highlight how messed up that is with humanity is a worthwhile read for me.

What kept me hooked to this memoir, even during the parts I didn't personally like, were the cascade of intimate details. I learned much about India through his recollections, and I connected with that feeling of not belonging because of social assumptions and a destructive self-narrative. I'm dismayed he didn't write anything about China or its culture shock for him. Is it in another book?

Correctional is a memoir that captures humanity and many, many laments. It's a huge public apology with many letters of love. Packaged with welcome criticism of the North American mythos of greatness. Shankar may dip into college level words now and then with his personal observations and legal wrangling episodes, so I'd probably recommend this to people who are at least high school reading level. Although I struggled at first, I'm grateful I finished reading this one.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Diane Mezzanotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn’t aware of Ravi Shankar, his poetry, or his incarcerations before reading this memoir. Now I want to seek out his poetry—although I feel that I’ve already experienced it to some degree, because this book is filled with poetic descriptions and beautiful turns of phrase that made it all the more pleasurable to read. (Of note: this is not Ravi Shankar the sitarist; the author addresses several times the challenges of sharing a name with a notable figure.)

At the same time, it was difficult to read about his incarcerations, especially since the initial event that started his downward spiral was a totally unjust case of mistaken identity and abuse of power. This was a man who never should have been imprisoned to start with, but then wound up being a repeat offender, through a combination of the flawed U.S. justice system and his own missteps, to which he freely admits and owns.

His accounts of life inside a prison in Connecticut are so similar to the experiences of two friends of mine who served time in Maryland and Florida—from the daily routines to the appalling health and hygiene conditions, to the system for making phone calls and having visitors. The U.S. incarceration system must be reformed from the corrupt, money-making machine it is today to a more rehabilitative process: the punishment for crime is separation from society, but so many inmates fall into a cycle of recidivism because they are actually being set up to fail once they’re released. That needs to change, and Shankar’s voice has been added to the chorus of advocates calling for reform. His memoir makes a strong case for this, and I hope it gets wide acclaim.

(I received this book through Book Sirens ARC in exchange for an honest review.)

[Jessica Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shankar’s memoir is at once a deeply personal account and searing public commentary.
A story told with self-reflection and self-awareness, he shares his efforts to embrace his Indian heritage as he struggles to assimilate to American culture. The narrative connects his sense of dislocation and alienation with his ability to survive and even thrive, in a way, in jail.

He takes us on his journey as a child of immigrants pursuing the American dream of education and success, and his fall into the dark labyrinth of the criminal system.

Shankar introduces the reader to the cast of characters he befriends in jail. The men bond through sharing meager resources and histories of trauma. Through his account of his jail experience Shankar reveals his deep love for humanity as he tells a lesser told story of the mutual aid, sharing, and support that goes on behind the bars between men who, although toughened by trauma, are vulnerable and caring. This is an important book due to the multiple lens’ of the American experience this memoir represents.

A story told in vivid detail with poetic turns of phrase, this book is entirely engaging.

[Jamie Cha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I had never heard of the author or his story before. I was intrigued by Ravi's memoir.

I enjoyed the real life tale of Ravi. I can't imagine living a middle class life and suddenly ending up in jail. I tried to put myself in the author's shoes. He shows compassion to the people he meets in his journey.

The book talks a lot about race, income inequality, incarceration, poverty, and sexism. It is a book that makes you think. Maybe question what you have been told about the incarnated. It made me feel compassion and empathy for the people he interacts with in jail.

The author is a professor. At times, the book reads like an academic piece. At times, I struggled a little with the vocabulary and wording of the book. The story is so intriguing, I still wanted to find out what was happening.

The book, like life, doesn't always end in a happy ending. I could see the growth of the author from beginning to end. I felt reading this book, made me grow a little too. I look forward to reading more from the author.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Correctional is the harrowing story of poet/editor/educator Ravi Shankar's disastrous encounter with the American criminal justice system. At the same time, it's the moving story of the Shankar family migration from India to the US. Shankar is Indian-American. As such, he's an outsider first, then a poet, then a professor, then an inmate, and now a memoirist--an exquisite prose stylist who blends narrative and scholarship in an account you can't put down.

[Vignesh Ramachandran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poignant reflection on experiences in the American criminal justice system. But also a memoir about the complexities of identities as an Indian American.