BOOKS BY JARVIS

 
 
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Finding Freedom
By Jarvis Jay Masters, 1997
Reissued 2020

Finding Freedom was released on July 14, 2020 by Shambhala Publications.

Since 1997, Jarvis' first book, Finding Freedom, has been reprinted by small Buddhist press Padma Publishing seven times. It will now be reissued by Shambhala Publications in hopes that Jarvis' message of inspiration can reach a larger audience in these challenging times.

This new edition includes a recent foreword from Ven. Pema Chödrön and previously unpublished pieces by Jarvis Jay Masters.

 
 
 

That Bird Has My Wings
By Jarvis Jay Masters, 2009

PEN USA West Finalist
Oprah’s Book Club Pick 2022
New York Times Bestseller

That Bird Has My Wings is the astounding memoir of Jarvis Masters, who has been incarcerated at San Quentin since 1981.

Offering scenes from his life that are at times poignant, revelatory, frightening, soul-stirring, painful, funny, and uplifting, That Bird Has My Wings tells the story of the author’s childhood with parents addicted to heroin, an abusive foster family, a life of crime and imprisonment, and the eventual embracing of Buddhism.

 
 

SHORT STORIES by jarvis

“A Buddhist On Death Row,” The Sun, Feb. 1998, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, p. 7 - 15

“Angry Faces,” Tricycle, Summer 1998, New Jersey, p. 60

“America's Lost Children,” Body Memories, Spring 1995, p. 20 - 21

“America's Lost Children,” Out of Bounds Magazine, Summer 1994, Victoria, BC p. 15 -17

“America's Lost Children,” Resource: A Redwood Men's Center Publication, Summer 1994, Santa Rosa, CA, p. 1,4,13

“Beyond the Gates,” Turning Wheel, Summer 2005, Berkeley, CA, p.34-37

“Bryan's Story,” Out of Bounds Magazine, Summer 1995, Victoria BC p. 23 -26

“Dead Man Living,” Turning Wheel, Winter 1999, Berkeley, CA, p.21

“Dead Man’s Coat,” Turning Wheel, Spring 2001, Berkeley, CA, p.13

“Dream,” The Gathering: Death Row Voices Both Sides of the Wire, April 1994, New York, NY, p.3

“Drunken Boat,” Online Journal of the Arts, Fall/Winter 2001-2002

“Finding Freedom,” Access Regional Holistic Resource, December 1997, Ashland, Oregon, p.12

“Finding Freedom: Writings From Death Row,” Mountain Record: The Zen Practitioner's Journal, Fall 1998, Mt. Tremper, NY, p. 31 - 35

“Finding Freedom, Writings from Death Row,” Southern Crossings, Jan-Feb 1998, Avalon, Austrailia, p 33 - 37

“Fruitcakes,” Turning Wheel, Spring 1994, Berkeley, CA, p.17 - 19

“Grieving for My Teacher,” Turning Wheel, Fall 2003, Berkeley, CA, p.17 - 19

“I Dreamed I Heard my Mother’s Voice,” Shambhala Sun, November 2007, Boulder, CO, pp. 62-63.

“Joe Bob Listens,” Turning Wheel, Fall 1995, Berkeley, CA, p. 33 -34

“Mourning Exercise,” San Francisco Chronicle, April 14, 1996, San Francisco, CA

“My Mother’s Hands,” Atencion, May 5-12, 2006, San Miquel de Allende, Mexico, p.16-23

“Peace Activist,” Gateway Journal:The Magazine of the Engaged Zen Foundation, Spring 1998, Rahway, New Jersey, p. 1 - 3

“Pipe-Down Dharma,” Mindfulness Bell, May-August 1997, Berkeley, CA, p. 8 – 9

“Pitbull,” Turning Wheel, Spring 2006, Berkeley, CA, p. 31-34

“Recipe for Prison Pruno,” Prison Writing, A Journal of Prisoner's Writing and Writing About Prisoners, No. 4, 1994, Sheffield, England, p. 41

“Sanctuary, Finding a Home in Prison,” Turning Wheel, Fall 1996, Berkeley, CA p. 29

“Seeking Silence,” Turning Wheel, Winter 1994, Berkeley, CA p.27

“Staying Steadfast,” Turning Wheel, Winter 2000, Berkeley, CA, p. 30 - 31

“The Boneyard Visit,” Turning Wheel, Spring 1996, Berkeley, CA p. 30 -31

“The Empowerment Ceremony,” Turning Wheel, Winter 1992, Berkeley, CA, p. 25 - 27

“The Lesser of Two Evils,” Turning Wheel, Summer 1997, Berkeley, CA, pp. 41, 42, 44

“The Spring of 1992,” The Gathering: Death Row Voices Both Sides of the Wire, August 1997, New York, NY, p. 6

“Three Excerpts from Finding Freedom,” Paths of Learning, Summer 2002, Eureka, CA, p.22-23

“Tylenol Prayer Beads,” Turning Wheel, Fall 1992, Berkeley, CA p.41

“When Joyce Came to San Quentin,” Utne Reader, Sept.-Oct. 1996, Minneapolis, MN, p.34 – 35

“Writings from Death Row: Five Stories from Finding Freedom,” Mandala Magazine, Nov-Dec 1997, Santa Fe, NM, p.35-42

ARTICLES & EDITORIALS BY JARVIS

“It is a Matter of Innocence, not Economics,” San Francisco Bay View, October 1, 2012, San Francisco, CA https://sfbayview.com/2012/10/it-is-a-matter-of-innocence-not-economics/

“Jarvis Masters Writes From Death Row in San Quentin as Covid-19 Spreads Unchecked,” LitHub, July 21, 2020, https://lithub.com/jarvis-masters-writes-from-death-row-in-san-quentin-as-covid-19-spreads-unchecked/

“Jarvis Jay Masters on Writing Has Given Him Freedom and Power,” OprahDaily, September 28, 2022, https://www.oprahdaily.com/entertainment/books/a41339109/jarvis-jay-masters-writing-as-a-form-of-power/

“Letter to Richard Korn,” North Coast Xpress, April/May 1995, Occidental CA, p. 41 -42

“Letting Prisoners Use Cellphones Make Sense—Now More Than Ever,” The Guardian, May 22, 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/22/coronavirus-prisons-covid-pandemic-cellphones

Books that include writings by Jarvis:

Alvarez, Daniela, and Uno, Roberta and Webb. Elizabeth M. ed., “A Measure of Joy,” co-created with Samara Gaev, Future/Present: Arts in a Changing America, Duke University Press, 2024, p.214-223

Amidon, Elias and Roberts, Elizabeth ed., “Rain Fell Today,” Prayers for a Thousand Years, Harper San Francisco,- 1999, p.71

Bennett, Julienne and Luebbermann, Mimi ed., “Sanctuary,” Where the Heart Is: A Celebration of Home, Wildcat Canyon Press, Berkeley, 1995, p. 131 - 135

Boyd, Herb and Allen, Robert L. ed, “Scars,” Brotherman: The Odyssey of Black Men in America, One World/Ballantine, 1995, p. 433-438

Chevigny, Bell Gale ed., “Recipe for Prison Pruno,” Doing Time: 25 years of Prison Writing: A PEN American Center Prize Anthology, Arcade, New York, 1999 p.304-305  

Crosby, Nandi S. “Scars,” This Side of My Struggle: Prisoners on Suffering, Surrendering, and Breaking Free, Soul.Journer Press, Chico, 2012, p.17-22

Fields, Rick ed., “The Lone Buddhist Ranger,” The Awakened Warrior: Living with Courage, Compassion and Discipline, Jeremy P.Tarcher/Putnam Books, New York, 1994, p. 194 -197

Hill, Kathleen Thompson ed, “Recipe for Prison Pruno,” Sonoma Poets Collection II, Hilltop Publishing Co., Sonoma, 1995, p.101

Kurs, Katherine ed., “Tylenol Prayer Beads,” Searching For Your Soul, Schocken Books, New York, 1999, p. 334 – 338

Larson, Doran ed. “The Inmate and the Prison Guard,” Fourth City: Essays from the Prison in America, Michigan State University Press, East Lansing, 2013, p. 123-126

Lozoff, Bo, “Foreward by Jarvis Jay Masters,” Deep and Simple, Human Kindness Foundation, Durham, North Carolina, 1999, p.ix –xi

McLeod, Melvin ed. “That Bird Has My Wings,” The Best Buddhist Writing 2010, Shambhala Publications, Boston, 2010, p. 30-40

Moon, Susan, ed. “Dead Man’s Coat,” Not Turning Away: The Practice of Engaged Buddhism— An Anthology from 25 Years of Turning Wheel, The Journal of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, Shambhala Publications, Boston, 2004 p.67-70

Mulvey-Roberts, Marie ed., Writing for Their Lives: Death Row USA, University of Illinois Press, Chicago, 2007, pp. 113-117, p.177-178