“Wright has found a way to wed fragments of an iconic America to a luminously strange idiom, eerie as a tin whistle, which she uses to evoke the haunted quality of our carnal existence.”—_The New Yorker_ Inspired by numerous visits inside Louisiana state prisons—where MacArthur Fellow C.D. Wright served as a “factotum” for a portrait photographer—_One Big Self_ bears witness to incarcerated men and women and speaks to the psychic toll of protracted time passed in constricted space. It is a riveting mosaic of distinct voices, epistolary pieces, elements from a moralistic board game, road signage, prison data, inmate correspondence, and “counts” of things—from baby’s teeth to chigger bites: _Count your folding money_ _Count the times you said you wouldn’t go back_ _Count your debts_ _Count the roaches when the light comes on_ _Count your kids after the housefire_ _One Big Self_—originally published as a large-format limited edition that featured photographs and text—was selected by _The New York Times_ and _The Village Voice_ as a notable book of the year. This edition features the poem exclusively. C.D. WRIGHT is the author of ten books of poetry, including several collaborations with photographer Deborah Luster. She is a professor at Brown University.