By Heart

Poetry, Prison, and Two Lives
Book Cover - By Heart - Poetry, Prison, and Two Lives

A two-person memoir written by Judith and Spoon Jackson. Spoon was Judith’s student at San Quentin in the 1980s, where he found himself as a poet and writer, and played Pozzo in the prison’s 1988 production of Waiting for Godot.  Click here to read more about the book

Here are some reviews:

Look for By Heart on GoodReads, LibraryThing and on KQED Forum’s summer reading list

Here are some radio interviews:

Forum on KQED
Booktown on KVMR (April 12)
7th Avenue Project on KUSP (April 25)

Excerpt from By Heart

Read a Q & A with Spoon
Read a Q & A with Judith

Some endorsements:

“A boy with no one to listen becomes a man in prison for life and discovers his mind can be free. A woman enters prison to teach and becomes his first listener. And so begins a twenty-five year friendship between two gifted writers and poets. The result is By Heart — a book that will anger you, give you hope, and break your heart.”
- Gloria Steinem

“A portrait of prison and of the pursuit of art. An amazing combo and a compelling read. . . years later, acting in [Waiting for] Godot on Broadway, I see how much the San Quentin production has meant to my view of the play.”
- Bill Irwin, TONY winning actor, appeared in the Broadway revival of Waiting for Godot

“This is a book about poetry, about struggle, about freedom and incarceration, and most of all about heart. t is a wonderful read.”
- devorah major, San Francisco Poet Laureate 2002-2005

“By Heart leads us on a poignant journey into that space in ourselves where we finally find our own voice. Bravo Judith and Spoon for a beautiful work of art.”
- Piri Thomas, writer, poet, author of Down These Mean Streets

“The collaboration between Judith Tannenbaum and Spoon Jackson continues the path to freedom through art. By Heart is so beautifully described, both objectively and emotionally.”
- Barney Rosset, Publisher/Editor of Grove Press 1951-1985

“By Heart works on so many levels. We get to know both Judith and Spoon through that terrific ‘eye’ and ‘I’ revelation that memoir offers at its best.”
- Rilla Askew, author of Fire in Beulah and other books

“A remarkable memoir of two powerful personalities brought together through poetry and prison. Through Judith’s genuineness a poet awoke and found a way to live a fuller life in spite of confinement, and through Spoon’s honesty and talent many people will be compelled to contribute to society, even if society has abandoned them.”
- Joseph Lea, Library Media Specialist, York Correctional Institution, Niantic, CT

“Politics don’t work, religion is a bit too eclectic, but ART is the parachute that could catch and hold us all!”
- Rhodessa Jones, Founder/Artistic Director of the Medea Project: Theatre for Incarcerated Women

In their remarkable memoir, Spoon Jackson and Judith Tannenbaum show us how words change lives, how poetry invites you to free your mind, even in a maximum security prison. By Heart is their profoundly inspirational story, an  engaging and enlightening examination of two people thrown together in a dark place and how both journey through darkness and into the light.
- Ken Lamberton, author of Wilderness and Razor Wire: A Naturalist’s Observations from Prison and other books.