Laura Bates
Shakespeare Saved My Life by Laura Bates is a powerful memoir of Dr. Bates’ experience teaching Shakespeare to prisoners in a maximum-security prison. The memoir takes place over a period of several years, during which time she comes to know, respect, and befriend Larry Newton, a convicted murderer. The memoir focuses primarily on Newton and his reactions to Shakespeare’s plays.
Although his formal education ended at fifth grade, and although he had never heard of Shakespeare prior to this experience, Newton’s approach to Shakespeare’s plays is inspiring. He interprets each play with fresh eyes and without the encumbrance of relying on literary critics. He connects with Shakespeare’s words on a personal level and applies them to his own experiences. His insights and ability to relate to the characters is inspiring. His repeated refrain is Shakespeare liberated his mind and saved his life. Newton becomes a star pupil who uses Shakespeare’s plays to challenge other prisoners to consider their own lives and to question their motivations and actions. Eventually, he writes a series of workbooks and produces plays to help others experience a similar, liberating transformation.
Dr. Bates’ work with prisoners earns recognition among prison officials, the media, and university students and administrators. Larry becomes a celebrity, impressing even Shakespeare scholars with his interpretations and fresh insights. His transformation is acknowledged by prison officials. No longer deemed a violent threat, Larry is released from the ten years he spent in solitary confinement and is permitted to join other prisoners.
The memoir is a powerful testament of the profound ability of literature, in particular, Shakespeare, to transform lives. It is also an indictment of the penal system. The conditions of Larry’s solitary confinement are horrifying. And when he was only seventeen, Larry had agreed to serve a life sentence without the possibility of parole not fully comprehending what he was doing.
Laura Bates’ memoir challenges readers to reconsider attitudes toward punishment and rehabilitation of incarcerated individuals and to acknowledge the power of education to transform their lives. She provides statistics to demonstrate the prisoners who participated in the Shakespeare program no longer committed violent offenses in prison and were not repeat offenders after their release.
Larry is white, and although his experience with Shakespeare is inspiring, the memoir’s focus on a single white inmate is problematic. Since the majority of the prison population consists of people of color, the memoir would have benefited from greater inclusivity by giving voice to the interpretations and reactions of a wider and more diverse population. Nevertheless, this is an inspiring memoir chronicling the transformative power of education and the constructive impact it can have on incarcerated individuals.