Prison Outreach

Some of the most interesting Great Books groups to be found anywhere meet in prisons.

The United States incarcerates, in both number and percentage of the population, more people than any other country in the world, with more than 2.3 million indviduals now behind bars. That's more than 1 in every 100 adults doing time in the United States.

The Great Books prison initiative is both practical as well as philanthropic. Studies done in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s showed a dramatic decrease in recidivism when prison inmates participate in educational programs, and a comprehensive 1987 Bureau of Prisons report found that the more education an inmate received, the lower the rate of recidivism.

With the help of dedicated volunteers, the Great Books Foundation has worked to expand intellectual horizons for incarcerated men and women. Volunteers who lead discussions have included university and community college professors, a poet, an Episcopal minister, an assistant prison warden for education, and a librarian. These volunteers, who come from diverse backgrounds, share one central belief: that imprisonment should not bar one from reading and discussing great books.

Read about what our volunteers are saying.

Read about the history of the Great Books prison outreach program.