angola rodeo

1. Photos: Angola Prison Rodeo - Newsday.com - ... time on the back of a wild horse in the Bareback Riding event at Louisiana State Prison in Angola, Louisiana. It was the 39th Annual ... www.newsday.com Mama
2. The Angola Prison Rodeo- Inmate Cowboys And Institutional Tourism- An article from- Ethnology

   The Angola Prison Rodeo

   Inmate Cowboys And Institutional Tourism: An article from: Ethnology:
   • Book by Melissa Schrift.
3. The Wildest Show in the South: The Angola Prison Rodeo (1999) - The Wildest Show in the South: The Angola Prison Rodeo - Cast, Crew, Reviews, Plot Summary, Comments, Discussion, Taglines, Trailers, Posters, us.imdb.com Mama
4. Louisiana State Penitentiary Museum/Index - The gateway to Angola. Includes museum hours and information. ... Louisiana State Penitentiary Museum | Angola, LA 70712 | (225) 655-2592 ... www.angolamuseum.org Mama
5. Poster - ANGOLA PRISON RODEO POSTER - 2005 Each year, Angola Inmate Artists are challenged by the Warden to create/design a commemorative poster. The Rodeo Committee ... www.angolarodeo.com Mama
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9. globevisions.com - Angola Prison Podeo - the parade - angola prison rodeo next previous The opening Parade at the Angola Prison Rodeo. Every Sunday in October, at two in the afternoon under the Louisiana scorching sun, the rodeo at the Louisiana State ... www.globevisions.com Mama
10. Dates - ANGOLA PRISON RODEO CALENDAR DATES 2005 - Fall October 2 October 9 October 16 October 23 October 30 2006 - Spring April 22 (Sat ... www.angolarodeo.com Mama
11. God of the Rodeo- The Quest for Redemption in Louisiana's Angola Prison

    God of the Rodeo

    The Quest for Redemption in Louisiana's Angola Prison:
    • Book by Daniel Bergner.
12. RAT RUN: ANGOLA PRISON RODEO - Angola State Penitentiary (Angola, La. 70712) Roundtrip Approx: 3,000 Miles www.bmw2k.com Mama
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16. Events - ANGOLA PRISON RODEO ... Angola Rough Riders enter the arena at full gallop and colors are presented. www.angolarodeo.com Mama
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18. Angola Prison Rodeo - Includes history, tickets, dates, events and information. www.angolarodeo.com Mama
19. Angola Rodeo - Lobito , Angola - Texas is the land of cows, and cowboys. The publisher of my paper was better known as the region's rodeo star than as a journalist. creekin.net Mama
20. God of the Rodeo- The Search for Hope, Faith, and a Six-Second Ride in Louisiana's Angola Prison.(Human Rights, Gender Politics & Postmodern Discourses)(Review)- An article from- Social Justice

    God of the Rodeo

    The Search for Hope, Faith, and a Six-Second Ride in Louisiana's Angola Prison.(Human Rights, Gender Politics & Postmodern Discourses)(Review): An article from: Social Justice:
    • Book by Anthony M. Platt.
21. The Angola Prison Rodeo Story - ... two inmate murders since Cain arrived at Angola in 1994. The annual rodeo was a standard event when he arrived, but he has encouraged it, ... www.ratrun.com Mama
22. Order Form - ANGOLA PRISON RODEO - TICKET ORDER FORM Shipping Address: Name: ___________________________________________ Street/State/ZIP: _________________________________ www.angolarodeo.com Mama
23. Directions - ANGOLA PRISON RODEO DRIVING DIRECTIONS The Louisiana State Penitentiary is located at the end of Hwy. 66, approximately 22 miles northwest of the town of St. ... www.angolarodeo.com Mama
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26. Angola State Rodeo Louisiana Horseback Riding Vacation Trail Trip - Vacation at Desert Plantation in Louisiana and attend the Angola State Rodeo or take a horseback trail riding trip... www.desertplantation.com Mama
27. History - ANGOLA PRISON RODEO 40 YEARS OF GUTS & GLORY The Angola Rodeo, the longest running prison rodeo in the nation, got its start in 1965. The first arena was ... www.angolarodeo.com Mama
28. Best titles ever! | Free Government Information (FGI) - Brings to mind The Angola Prison Rodeo and Craft Fair: http://angolarodeo.com/ ... freegovinfo.info Mama
29. God of the Rodeo- The Quest for Redemption in Louisiana's Angola Prison- An article from- Corrections Compendium

    God of the Rodeo

    The Quest for Redemption in Louisiana's Angola Prison: An article from: Corrections Compendium:

• Book by Leanne Fifal Alarid.

The Angola Prison Rodeo- Inmate Cowboys And Institutional Tourism- An article from- Ethnology

The Angola Prison Rodeo

Inmate Cowboys And Institutional Tourism: An article from: Ethnology:

God of the Rodeo- The Quest for Redemption in Louisiana's Angola Prison

God of the Rodeo

The Quest for Redemption in Louisiana's Angola Prison:

In God of the Rodeo, he introduces readers to rodeo champion Johnny Brooks, a 41-year-old "lifer" incarcerated for a murder he committed at the age of 18, who is engaged to marry a civilian woman he met at the rodeo. He's also the most promising candidate for parole. There's Terry Hawkins, a man who tries to seek salvation for the violent murder of his boss, the grotesque details of which haunt him, and Danny Fabre, plagued with comically large ears he desperately wants corrected by plastic surgery almost as much as he wishes to learn to read past the 6th-grade level. Perhaps the most striking figure is the stern, spiritual warden, Burl Cain, a self-proclaimed prophet who genuinely believes in redemption for even the most violent offenders.

Written with the eloquence of a poet and the perceptive eyes of a painter, Bergner's extremely well wrought, unforgettable book offers a rare glimpse into the hearts and souls of men who commit violence, finding hope and courage where few dare to look, without ever losing sight of the horrific crimes that landed them in America's most isolated prison. --Kera BolonikDescription: Never before had Daniel Bergner seen a spectacle as bizarre as the one he had come to watch that Sunday in October. Murderers, rapists, and armed robbers were competing in the annual rodeo at Angola, the grim maximum-security penitentiary in Louisiana. The convicts, sentenced to life without parole, were thrown, trampled, and gored by bucking bulls and broncos before thousands of cheering spectators. But amid the brutality of this gladiatorial spectacle Bergner caught surprising glimpses of exaltation, hints of triumphant skill.

The incongruity of seeing hope where one would expect only hopelessness, self-control in men who were there because they'd had none, sparked an urgent quest in him. Having gained unlimited and unmonitored access, Bergner spent an unflinching year inside the harsh world of Angola. He forged relationships with seven prisoners who left an indelible impression on him. There's Johnny Brooks, seemingly a latter-day Stepin Fetchit, who, while washing the warden's car, longs to be a cowboy and to marry a woman he meets on the rodeo grounds. Then there's Danny Fabre, locked up for viciously beating a woman to death, now struggling to bring his reading skills up to a sixth-grade level. And Terry Hawkins, haunted nightly by the ghost of his victim, a ghost he tries in vain to exorcise in a prison church that echoes with the cries of convicts talking in tongues.

Looming front and center is Warden Burl Cain, the larger-than-life ruler of Angola who quotes both Jesus and Attila the Hun, declares himself a prophet, and declaims that redemption is possible for even the most depraved criminal. Cain welcomes Bergner in, and so begins a journey that takes the author deep into a forgotten world and forces him to question his most closely held beliefs. The climax of his story is as unexpected as it is wrenching.
        
Rendered in luminous prose, God of the Rodeo is an exploration of the human spirit, yielding in the process a searing portrait of a place that will be impossible to forget and a group of men, guilty of unimaginable crimes, desperately seeking a moment of grace.


From the Hardcover edition.

• Review:: 'A First Hand View into Angola Prison Bergner's inside look reads more like an expose than a historical account, not surprising when one takes into consideration his background as a journalist. This account, however, it must be noted takes into account an extensive history of Angola State Prison. Bergner spent time there performing the work of a sociologist: observing, writing, detailing, getting to know the inmates on a personal basis; and even sometimes getting caught in the political tides of the prison administration. This work is as much designed for the general reader who seeks an understanding of the life of a prisoner as much as it is for the student of criminal justice or political science who seeks a knowledge base in prison life. Bergner's talents are clearly on display in this sociological masterpiece that clearly details the emotions of prison life. The graphic behavior exhibited by the characters in this work only serve to intensify the reality of prison life and drive home the point that Bergner makes, chiefly being that Angola State Prison, much like any other prison, is a world apart from normal society. This work is an inside view of that other world. It shocks just the same as Jonathan Kozol's Savage Inequalities.
• Review:: 'great material, poorly done The narrative jumps around, unfocused and unsure of itself, and never truly captures the convicts. No dramatic tension and anti-climactic.
• Review:: 'Bull-riding behind bars This book is only incidentally about rodeo, and even less about God. Yes, Bergner uses a prison rodeo as the structural device to build this account of prison life around. But it's not any kind of rodeo you would see authorized by the PRCA. The events are more treacherous, and the men who participate have no experience. They are a spectacle for a crowd of people looking for the same kind of thrills that drew ancient Romans to the Coliseum.

  The book is chiefly about the daily lives of several of the prisoners who happen to participate in this spectacle, as Bergner follows them over the period of a year at Louisiana's maximum security prison, Angola. Bergner is permitted to talk to them one-on-one, with no guards present, by an unusual warden with a reputation for his "humane" philosophy of incarceration and his efforts at rehabilitation. The interviews, as a result, or more than usually candid. One prisoner even fantasizes aloud to Bergner about escaping and taking revenge on the people who put him there.

  Not all the prisoners Bergner introduces us to are reprehensible. Most, in fact, seem decent enough blokes, and he has to keep reminding us (and himself) that all of them are serving time for violent, awful crimes. Most are black men, reflecting the racial (im)balance of the prison population. And most struggle daily to maintain a sense of self-worth that society and the judicial and penal systems have denied them. One man becomes active in the prison's chapter of Toastmasters. Another attends church services for a time. One holds out the hope that his teenage son will find a way to be proud of him. One romances a woman with two children who eventually marries him in a prison ceremony.

  Unexpectedly, in the middle of the narrative, the prison warden begins to pressure Bergner for editorial privileges. He wants only good publicity and perhaps suspects that Bergner has uncovered some shady dealings involving labor provided by prisoners to business associates. What starts as a congenial relationship between the two men turns sour, and Bergner has to take his case to a sympathetic state prison commissioner, who reinstates his privileges, no strings attached.

  The book ends as it begins with the annual rodeo. By now we know how the hope of winning a buckle feeds the participants' desire to compete and succeed. We also see the shabby futility of the event and regret ever yearning along with them for a moment of personal glory.

  I recommend this book to anyone who has the slightest interest in what happens to men who are sent to prison. Bergner has written a fascinating account of lives spent year after year behind bars. As a companion volume, I would recommend Ted Conover's "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing," which gives an account of prison life told from the point of view of the men and women who work as guards.

• Review:: 'Carpetbagger Journalism A New York Yankee flies down to Louisiana for a couple of weekends to report "the truth" as he sees it. At the same time, he's on a religious journey. The problem with this book, much like James Agee's "Let Us Know Praise Famous Men," is that the author allows the story to be about him writing the story. Who cares? A journalist in a Louisiana prison. That's not fodder for interesting reading. There are over 5,100 men currently in Angola. Surely, there had to be more interesting stories there than Bergner's. It's as if Bergner already had the story written before even visiting the prsion. He just plugged in some names and (voila!) he has a book.

  It's a shame this book is so weak. There is a great deal of potential, but Bergner doesn't follow through. More importantly, he has a wonderful opportunity to teach his readers a thing or two about the condition of the Louisiana State Penitentiary and the men incarcerated there, but instead he chooses to write a Hollywood story, Bayou Style.

  If you thought the movies The Big Easy and Forest Gump were great films, than this is the book for you. Otherwise, steer clear of this tawdry fluff. On an aesthetic note, the book looks really great on the tank of your toilet.

• Review:: 'Disappointing The positive reviews I have read here are mystifying. Bergner is a talented writer, for sure, but I really felt as if he mailed in this book more than anything. It sure didn't seem like he spent a year at Angola prison or even in the vicinity. Seemed more to me as if he flew down there every once in awhile to see what's up. The book starts off GREAT, the first third, and then proceeds to fall apart with the not-so-interesting details of his fight with warden Cain to retain his access. Once he wins that fight it's as if the author has lost his steam. The charcters, even warden Cain, don't seem to come to life and their story, the one he tells, just isn't so compelling. I just came away feeling that the author was worn out. Too bad, too. I had high hopes for this one. Want to read a book that DOES make this kind of access work? Try Pete Early's The Hot House, about his two or three years inside of Leavenworth.

• Similar books:
• Cain's Redemption- A Story Of Hope And Transformation In America's Bloodiest Prison
• Dying to Tell- Angola , Crime Consequence, Conclusion at Louisiana State Penitentiary
• Worse than Slavery- Parchman Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice
• The Hot House- Life Inside Leavenworth Prison
• Inside Rikers- Stories from the World's Largest Penal Colony