{"product_id":"prison-song-david-metzer-9780472058044","title":"Prison Song: Music and Incarceration in the United States","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom Johnny Cash to Jay-Z, musicians have long used their voices to challenge the injustices of the prison system. \u003ci\u003ePrison Song: Music and Incarceration in the United States\u003c\/i\u003e reveals how musicians have confronted the prison system by telling the life stories of imprisoned individuals, creating empathetic bonds between listeners and those individuals, and critiquing the racial and social inequalities that incarceration preys upon. \u003ci\u003ePrison Song\u003c\/i\u003e takes a broad, interdisciplinary approach to explore how artists across genres--hip hop, country, blues, folk, rock, jazz, and classical--have protested the prison system. David Metzer examines the works of incarcerated, formerly incarcerated, and nonincarcerated musicians from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including prison records, government reports, legislation, court decisions, and scholarship from carceral studies, each chapter reveals how musicians responded to developments in the prison system at particular historical moments and how their works have shaped public understanding of the prison system in the United States.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e David Metzer\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0472058045\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780472058044\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Michigan Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/20\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 234\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/01\/2026 pg. 110","brand":"David Metzer","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48454191644927,"sku":"9780472058044","price":29.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_538fa195-eb5f-446b-935f-9052ab13002b.jpg?v=1777304718","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/prison-song-david-metzer-9780472058044","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}