Toxic Literacies

"Official documentation" hides human rights violations in this country. Men, women, and children are incapacitated by legally sanctioned discriminatory practices that occur through the use of bureaucratic texts such as laws, court transcripts, medical reports, insurance policies, and work orders. Based on a six-year ethnographic study, Toxic Literacies tells the story of: Cindy, who spent years in prison for the possession of one gram of heroin Sam, who spent six years on the streets and could not get help from any official agency Laurie, who at twenty-five had cervical cancer and was crippled by radiation because it was cheaper than surgery Kathryn, who, addicted to crack cocaine, pregnant, and living on the streets, was told she could not have any housing assistance until her baby was born. Bureaucratic texts control the lives of men and women-Cindy, Sam, Laurie, Kathryn, people we pass on the street every day-living on the margins of American society. In Toxic Literacies, Denny Taylor explains how we allow this to happen and makes a compelling case for it to stop.