Great Escape

“We have the biggest prison population in human history here in the United States,” says Piper Kerman, author of the bittersweet prison memoir Orange Is the New Black. “In a relatively short time — in basically one generation — we have invested so deeply in incarceration that our prison population...

By Kyle Harris

May 22, 2014

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“We have the biggest prison population in human history here in the United States,” says Piper Kerman, author of the bittersweet prison memoir Orange Is the New Black. “In a relatively short time — in basically one generation — we have invested so deeply in incarceration that our prison population has grown from 500,000 in 1980 to 2.4 million today.”

Tonight, in advance of season two of the Peabody Award-winning Netflix adaptation of her book, Kerman will discuss her time in prison as a low-level drug offender, the web series and reform of the criminal-justice system.

“What the show does that is so important is the same thing I set out to do in the book,” she says. “It declares that the 2.4 million people in jail are still people, not just convicts, criminals or felons. They are people, and human. They have these fascinating histories and still have value and meaning.”

Kerman’s presentation begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Lone Tree Arts Center, 10075 Commons Street in Lone Tree. Tickets are $40 to $50 for general admission, and $75 for premium seating and a meet-and-greet with the author; purchase yours by calling 720-509-1000. For more information, go to lonetreeartscenter.org.
Thu., May 22, 7:30 p.m., 2014

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