Behind Bars: 61 Poets Who Went To Jail

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From My Poetic Side:

While freedom of speech is generally promoted today, this wasn’t always the case, and a lot of poets have caused a stir with their unfiltered approach. Controversial topics and unfavourable connections have landed many poets in hot water, so much so that a few of them have ended up behind bars because of it. Of course, there are a number of poets that have gone to jail for reasons that aren’t so closely related to their craft, such as throwing a brick through a police station window! Below, we take a look at 61 poets who went to jail in further detail…

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1. Adam Mickiewicz

The Polish poet was arrested in 1823 and exiled into Russia for his part in the Philomaths, which was an organisation Mickiewicz set up with friends in 1817. The group discussed romanticist ideas, which were banned by the Russian Empire at the time.

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6. Brendan Behan

Widely regarded as one of the best Irish poets of all time, Behan was arrested at the age of 16 when he joined the IRA and embarked on an unauthorised solo mission to England. He was found in possession of explosives, with intent to blow up the Liverpool Docks, which led to him spending three years in Hollesley Bay borstal.

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10. Charlotte Smith

Smith went to debtors’ prison because her husband was sent there. It was in prison that she began to write her first work, Elegiac Sonnets. The publication of the poems was so successful that she was able to buy her way out of prison. In the end, her family moved to Dieppe in France so they could avoid being hounded by creditors.

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 14. Dorothy Parker

Dorothy Parker was arrested for her role in activism when she took part in a demonstration in Boston.

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20. Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Fyodor Dostoyevsky was lucky to escape death after being arrested in 1849 for belonging to a literary group that discussed books that were critical of Tsarist Russia. These books were banned at the time, which lead Dostoyevsky to being sentence to death, although this was commuted at the last moment. Instead, he served in a Siberian prison camp for four years, after which he spent six years doing compulsory military service in exile.

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29. John Bunyan

The Puritan preacher was arrested numerous times for doing exactly that – preaching. It resulted in him being sentenced to 12 years imprisonment in 1661. John Bunyan: Prisoner for Christ was published in 2004.

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36. Liu Xiaobo

Liu Xiaobo received the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize while in prison. He was serving an 11-year sentence for inciting subversion of state power. He received the Nobel Peace Prize for his ‘long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China.’

37. Marcus Garvey

Garvey served several stints in prison, including a five-year sentence for mail fraud. During his time in jail, he was cited by a prison guard for insolence, which resulted in him being reprimanded and receiving a warning.

Link to the rest at My Poetic Side and thanks to Julian for the tip.

4 thoughts on “Behind Bars: 61 Poets Who Went To Jail”

  1. I don’t actually see the point in putting poets who were jailed for trying to murder people (with explosives!) with poets who were jailed for calling out Communist dictatorships.

    One of these things is not at all like the other.

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