What does it mean to have a dictionary, and why is it wrong for a prisoner to be denied a personal dictionary:
Back when I was in solitary confinement, … the prison would only allow me to have one religious book, but no other personal books. I spent about three to four months with no way to look up words …. I wanted to do some serious studying and writing, but how serious can my studies be when I am unable to use new words or read and understand material with unfamiliar terms?
I was so frustrated by this … that I eventually filed a civil rights lawsuit against the prison claiming violation of my First Amendment rights. The rule eventually changed and I was allowed to have two personal books. I chose to purchase the New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. I finally received it in February 1999, and have had it ever since. In fact, as I sit here in my plastic chair, with my typewriter set up on the top of my green metal locker, my trusty NSOED sits right here beside me.
This dictionary is so important to me that I have hung on to it for over five years. And I know when I walk out the prison gate in 2008 I'll still have it with me. I’ve possessed and relinquished many material possessions in my life, but there have been very few I have hung on to for as long as I have already hung on to this dictionary. Maybe I don't use it every day, or nearly as often as I could, but having it there when I do need it opens up a world of possibilities …. |
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