Prison Round Trip was first published in German in 2003 as Einmal Knast und zuruck'. The essay's author, Klaus Viehmann, had been released from prison ten years earlier, after completing a 15-year sentence for his involvement in urban guerrilla activities in Germany in the 1970s. The essay was subsequently reprinted in various forums. It is a reflection on prison life and on how to keep one's sanity and political integrity within the hostile and oppressive prison environment; 'survival strategies' are its central theme.'