We talk to Mark Dostert about his memoir recounting his time as a juvenile attendant in Up in Here: Jailing Kids on Chicago’s Other Side, choosing the right color white for your juvenile detention center, and the merits of jailing kids with outmoded and punitive drug laws.

Photo credit: Chris Wineinger

Suggested readings from Mark:

• Dostert’s opinion piece in the Dallas Morning News

• Mark's short story "Rocks, July 1994" in Green Hills Literary Lantern, also a finalist for the 2017 Lamar York Prize

Stories by Mark

"The Saint of 3F" in Hayden's Ferry Review: The Dock

"Getting Rid of the Get" in Punctuate