Laura Bates

Author of SHAKESPEARE SAVED MY LIFE; founder of the Shakespeare in Shackles program in solitary confinement.

[MN Library Assoc. @MNlibraries]

Hear Laura Bates (@shakeinshackles)! Tomes on Tap - April 18, 2015 @ 6:30 pm - Mill Street Tavern in Cannon Falls, MN http://t.co/3IDQCtgO8m

[Laura Bates @shakeinshackles]

@falpublib Awesome…can't wait for my visit to Falmouth!

[FLD @flau25]

Stone walls do not a prison make...or do they? http://t.co/KVSog9nnac @shakeinshackles #BigLibraryRead

[Laura Bates @shakeinshackles]

@OverDriveLibs I hope the book inspires others to engage in similar work: Shakespeare or other topics; prisoners or other populations

[Laura Bates @shakeinshackles]

@OverDriveLibs Also, I hope the book helps readers to consider their own personal “prisons.”

[Laura Bates @shakeinshackles]

@OverDriveLibs I hope that it helps readers to see both Shakespeare and prisoners in new ways.

[Laura Bates @shakeinshackles]

@OverDriveLibs This prison doesn't matter. It's the prisons of our own making that we put ourselves into....

[Laura Bates @shakeinshackles]

@OverDriveLibs One ‘reward’ has been watching one prisoner, Larry Newton, return to life after more than a decade in solitary confinement.

[Laura Bates @shakeinshackles]

@OverDriveLibs One outstanding ‘moment’ was learning that we had saved at least one victim’s life....

[Laura Bates @shakeinshackles]

@OverDriveLibs Just one? There's been SO many. Hmmm......

[Laura Bates @shakeinshackles]

@OverDriveLibs Themes of responsibility; conscience; remorse...are explored in the text and in our workbooks.

[Laura Bates @shakeinshackles]

@OverDriveLibs They relate to Mac; debate over interps of the witches; and love to hate Lady Mac. :)

[Laura Bates @shakeinshackles]

@OverDriveLibs Additionally, it presents important questions of responsibility and choice that incarcerated readers need to address.

[Laura Bates @shakeinshackles]

@OverDriveLibs “Macbeth”. The fact that it is my favorite text may have something to do with that: my enthusiasm may be contagious.

[Laura Bates @shakeinshackles]

@OverDriveLibs I feel not just ‘comfortable,’ but proud!

[Laura Bates @shakeinshackles]

@OverDriveLibs Great question! Actually, it was my husband who introduced me to prison work, and he continues to lead programs there.

[Laura Bates @shakeinshackles]

@OverDriveLibs Lots of picture books! But it's a start....

[Laura Bates @shakeinshackles]

@OverDriveLibs I'd check out as many books as I could carry (MORE than I could carry). My interests were eclectic: travel, nature, lit..

[Laura Bates @shakeinshackles]

@OverDriveLibs Starting around age 5, I would walk 2 miles to the public library with my older sister, in hot summers and snowy winters…

[Laura Bates @shakeinshackles]

@OverDriveLibs Great question! Actually, it's my husband who initially introduced ne to prison work, and he is still volunteering too.