Biography
Lyle C. May (he/him) is a journalist, creative nonfiction writer, and prison abolitionist. Born in Jacksonville, Florida, and raised in Brunswick, Maine, May has lived for nearly three decades in Central Prison in Raleigh, North Carolina, a place he considers the origin of his artistic growth.
May’s writing dissects the politics and policies of the carceral state. In particular, he challenges myths and misinformation about extreme sentences, tough-on-crime narratives, and higher education in prison. May is the author of Witness: An Insider’s Narrative of the Carceral State and The Transformative Journey of Higher Education in Prison: A Class of One. His writing has appeared in many publications including Yale Law School’s Journal of Law and Liberation, Brooklyn Law School’s Journal of Law and Policy, and NYU Law School’s Review of Law and Social Change.
May is working on his third book, The Politics of Mercy. A member of the Alpha Sigma Lambda Honor Society, an Ohio University alum (AA), and an Adams State University alum (BA), May frequently lectures on the topics of his writing in classrooms, at academic conferences, and for online events.
