Resizing Sykes: Ian O’Donnell in conversation with David Skarbek

Abstract

Ian O’Donnell's latest book, Prison Life: Pain, Resistance, and Purpose, is published by New York University Press. It was welcomed by a review symposium in The Prison Journal as ‘an important new book … a catalyst for energizing sociology of punishment scholarship’ written by ‘the indisputable elder of Irish criminology’ (Gido et al., 2023: 160). Contributors to the symposium described ‘a tour de force’ (Kimmett Edgar) and ‘an impressive contribution’ (Ashley Rubin) that is ‘elegantly written and sophisticated’ (Cormac Behan) and ‘raises critical questions about penal variations in legitimacy, order, and the experience of punishment’ (Bethany Schmidt). It was hailed as ‘a fine book that illuminates essential relational dimensions of human dignity … an outstanding work from a mature and sensitive scholar who understands the complexities and rewards of writing about prisons’ (Derek Jeffreys) and ‘a gem in contemporary penological literature’ (Gorazd Mesko). The editors of Incarceration decided to mark the publication of Prison Life by commissioning a dialogue between its author and David Skarbek, a professor at Brown University who has written extensively about prison governance.