True Notebooks

A non-fiction book that entails the quandaries faced by troubled youths in a juvenile hall would make other personal problems in this world seem utterly diminutive. Mr. Salzman writes with confidence from memory about his experiences as a writing teacher volunteer at Central Juvenile Hall in Los Angeles. His subtle sense of humor adorns his recollections of his friendships with his writing students, which makes the book easy to finish (each chapter is quite short too). These children are full of anger and remorse. They have committed serious crimes but the fact remains that most of them are merely kids without hope and guidance from families or friends. Being tried as adults, a lot of them end up receiving the maximum sentence - life in prison. It doesn't matter if they have repented or if they have straightened out their acts or if they have learned a valuable lesson from their biggest mistake in life - they are still murderers, assaulters, and gang members. Mr. Salzman's writing is their stories in their own words. It is also the author's feelings and justifications about his volunteering experience. Throughout the book, tears may be the result of heartbreaking incidents or comical occurrences. There is also the nagging question - what about the victims? It is up to the reader to consider.

I'll admit my expectations were not high when I began this book, but my interest in teaching writing to young people in all situations propelled me forward. I was expecting this to turn into some goopy do-gooder account of letting violent crime youth offenders get in touch with their warm and fuzzy feelings. I was wrong. Not wrong because these kids didn't use writing to explore their feelings but wrong because I had preconceptions about how these types of participative journalism/nonfiction accounts often play out. Salzman does something very artful and human with this work -- he gets out of the way and lets the story unfold through the words of the kids he teaches and the people who are charged with their care. It is not until the end that the author begins to explore his part in what is happening. Salzman's handling of the final third of this book should be required study for any aspiring nonfiction author (or novelist for that matter). You may read it to admire his literary skill or you may simply read it to feel your heart pound a little harder as you appreciate the privilege it is to get to know some of the people in this book through the eyes of an artist.

TRUE NOTEBOOKS is author Mark Salzman's account of his teaching writing to juvenile offenders in a California youth detention facility. Salzman almost stumbles upon this volunteer opportunity due to a case of writer's block. In the late 1990's, Salzman was at work on a novel that included a juvenile offender and he wanted to make the character more life-like. Salzman hoped that watching a friend teach writing to young prisoners would help, so he went to observe a class. Before he knew it, he was recruited to start a class of his own.A strength of the book is that Salzman does not jump into the role of a social worker but rather remains a writer throughout the book. At times I was reminded of the writing of Jonathan Kozol. Like Kozol, Salzman brings the people in the book to life and the reader feels an instant connection with them. This includes not only the young offenders, but also the staff of the center, and two staff members he especially admired: Sr. Janet Harris and Mr. Sills. Yet the book is more than a piece of journalism or a stereotypical "year in the life of a juvenile detention facility." Salzman uses his gifts as a writer, gifts demonstrated in his fictional works, which enable the book to flow. Though the book could easily become too sentimental, Salzman steers clear of this temptation. He never has any illusions that he is changing the world, but he does realize that what he does touches young lives. He has sympathy for the young people he works with, but he also realizes that these are young men who have committed very serious crimes, and some of them would do the same thing again. In the end the reader has a better understanding of the way in which writing and sharing our writing can help us connect with our truer selves. Perhaps even more importantly, the book shows the difference we can make when we do reach out to others, knowing that the act of reaching out is what matters most.It will be easy for some people to push a book like this aside and dismiss it as a somewhat liberal, do-gooder tract, but hopefully this will not happen in too many cases. Teachers and youth workers will probably find this book fascinating. The book could also be a warning to writers who suffer from writer's block: beware-you never know what you could be getting yourself into when you research your works!

I have always loved Mark Salzman's writing; he brings a deep respect and appreciation of the humanity of his characters to the page. Maybe that sounds easy to do when you're writing about, say, the spiritual life of a cloistered nun, as he did in his recent novel "Lying Awake."In "True Notebooks," you might think he has taken on too big a task: he wants you to understand and appreciate the imprisoned Los Angeles teenagers he supervises in the "Inside Out Writers" program in LA Central jail. He does this by describing a year or more of biweekly readings of his jailhouse writers group. Inmates come, write, live out the details of their cases, and then, sadly, eventually disappear into the adult justice system.He doesn't sugarcoat or sentimentalize these kids' stories--he understands and acknowledges the pain their crimes have caused, and he writes about their victims too. But by doing such a marvelous job showing how his subjects grow and change through their experiences, he forces you to see them as real and human. You will be astonished and saddened by the quality of their writing, and hold your own children closer as a result.

Salzman's latest is my favorite of his so far. It is not some glossy "To Sir, With Love" or "Dangerous Minds" but a real, insightful glimpse into the world of juvenile delinquents, showing them at their most vulnerable. Their stories (in their own words) are depressing, funny, heart wrenching and violent - but all are brutally honest. Their writings are framed by Salzman's thoughtful and spare prose; without judging these troubled kids he helps us appreciate how they became who they are. It is not a hopeful book, but it does build compassion and understanding, which is much more useful than hope. It is a fantastic book.