I turned on the radio last night in the middle of a "This American Life" broadcast, to hear Breyton Breytenbach talking about his years in prison in South Africa. Near the end, he describes the experience of the last singing of inmates about to be hanged, including the sense that all the prison laid awake all night to listen, ears pressed to the bars of their cells. He is a poet, and I can not begin to describe the power and poignancy of the image he painted with his words. It is well worth a listen. Here is a link to the "This American Life" 1999 archives from which you can here a streaming MP3 of the piece. Scroll all the way to the bottom to 1/8 episode 119. The name of the episode is "Lock Up, and Breytenbach's piece is Act V. You won't be sorry.

Janie