City Pages: Author Zeke Caligiuri reflects on redemption, family, and writing from prison
There’s no graceful way to say it: Zeke Caligiuri, author of the new memoir This Is Where I Am, is in prison. But the story of how he became an inmate is told in a poetic narrative anchored in the Powderhorn neighborhood where Caligiuri grew up. From falling in with the wrong crowd to selling crack, the book retraces the trajectory that resulted in Caligiuri’s imprisonment. The book is not without its bittersweet moments, including interactions with his beloved grandmother.
Despite being behind bars, Caligiuri has managed to create an admirable resume, including several PEN Prison Writing Contest awards and an inclusion in Prison Noir, a story collection edited by Joyce Carol Oates.
We spoke to Caligiuri from Faribault Correctional Facility in anticipation of the book’s launch celebration at Open Book this evening.
City Pages: You didn’t include the crime that you’re in prison for in the book. Why did you omit that from the story?
Zeke Caligiuri: I wanted respect for family members and anybody else that may have been impacted by this to be able to feel the way they feel about everything that happened. I didn’t want to bring up any kind of bad memories.
Published in: City Pages
By: Erica Rivera
Story Date: 2016-10-24T05:00:00+00:00
By: Erica Rivera
Story Date: 2016-10-24T05:00:00+00:00
