Piper Kerman (left) autographs a book
for Sarah Mitchel (center) at the post lecture book signing.
SAM CARAVANA / THE DEPAUW
Piper Kerman reported to the women’s correctional facility in Danbury, CT on February 4, 2004. Eleven years to the day she stood in front of a full Kresge Auditorium, and opened up to DePauw and the Greencastle community about life behind bars.
Now an accomplished speaker and author, Piper has appeared before the U.S. senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights, serves on the board of the Women’s Prison Association, has been awarded the Justice Trailblazer Award and the Constitutional Commentary Award. What she is perhaps best known for, however, is her memoir “Orange is the New Black” and the Netflix original series of the same name.
Shortly after graduating from Smith College, Kerman found herself “drifting,” as she described it in her presentation in Kresge Wednesday night. She crossed paths with an older woman, whom she began a love affair with. This older woman was part of a drug ring and during their relationship Kerman found herself carrying a bag full of drug money from Chicago to Brussels. Ten years later, she was indicted, and six years after that she reported to Danbury to serve her 15 months.
“I imagined myself to be having a great adventure, when in fact I was getting myself into a whole lot of trouble,” said Kerman.
Before her presentation to a larger audience in Kresge, Kerman spoke with and answered questions of students who had taken Professor Swarez’s Winter Term course “Orange is the New Black” as well as Prindle Interns at Prindle. The questions ranged from Kerman’s advocacy work to her involvement in the show.
She cautioned that “the show is really not a biopic,” and stated that season three will probably be a complete departure from her memoir, since she feels that Genji Kohan, the shows creator, has probably gleaned all she can from Kerman’s real-life experiences.
“They talk to me a lot, and I read the scripts,” she said. ‘There was a bank robbery story and they started asking me a lot about bank robbery and I said, ‘I haven’t done so much of that—but I know somehow who has.’”
During her speech in Kresge, Kerman touched on her experiences in prison, speaking on everything from the friends she made behind bars to the necessity of staying busy.
“Everybody in prison gets a nickname. One experimental hairstyle can stick with you the whole time,” she said of her friend Pom-Pom.
Author Piper Kerman answers questions during a student forum
held at the Prindle Institute before her Ubben Lecture.
A number of the students in attendance took a class
that focused on Kerman's book.
SAM CARAVANA/THE DEPAUW
When she first arrived, she was greeted with small prison-life necessities from fellow inmates. Since prisoners are not supplied with soap, shampoo or shower shoes, and money to buy these items is only available after a wait, other prisoners become a “welcome wagon” for newcomers.
“The last thing I expected was to experience kindness at the hands of other prisoners, but that’s exactly what happened,” she said.
Kerman also spoke on the statistics of women in prison, and of the U.S. judicial system as a whole. According to her, the U.S. is home to more prisoners than anywhere in the world. As a country, it accounts for five percent of the world’s population, and for 25 percent of the world’s prisoners, as well as one third of female prisoners.
She also made it clear that for women in prison, separation from their children can be the worst trial of all, and that “seismic” problems often occur for the children of women who are sent to prison.
Problems of reentry were also discussed. In an anecdote, Piper told of a letter she received while still in prison from one of her friends who had recently been released. In it, the woman wrote, ‘I really miss you guys. I feel like you were my real family.’
“I wished she was back in prison with us—like that would be a better thing—and I was so sad for thinking that,” Kerman said.
In her life after “Orange is the New Black,” Kerman says she has learned that a mix of advocacy and popular culture is necessary to make change happen within the judicial system. With the show, Kerman feels that the lives of women in prison have been brought to the forefront in a positive way.
“The show puts forward many protagonists for us to cheer for—that’s very different than how we often look at prisoners.”
However, she added that the advocacy piece of her work has been equally important.
“You have to make it very clear to people that what they see depicted in television or in movies or in a song is in fact grounded in real life.”
Kalen Granger ’14, traveled back to Greencastle from Indianapolis specifically to hear Kerman speak.
“I wanted to hear more of her experiences outside of the book and to hear her thoughts on the show.”
However, Granger felt that some of what Kerman said was “redundant” for her as someone who had read the book.
“I would have liked to hear more about how she’s trying to change things in prisons,” she said. “I still think her personal quality and being able to ask questions was way worth my time.”
Rebecca Zucker ’14 came despite never having seen the show or read Kerman’s book.
“Frankly I didn’t know a lot about it,” she said. “I was interested mostly in what makes her story so compelling to so many people, and what her specific stances are on these issues.”
When Claire Peacha ’18 asked during Kerman’s question and answer session at Prindle whether or not she ever regretted telling her story, Kerman answered succinctly and firmly: “No.”