Click here for details and to purchase tickets for the New York Writers Workshop Silent Auction Fundraiser Prison Writes is a division of NYWW and a portion of funds raised will go towards our writing workshops. The evening will feature music by Parallel Tribe and Max Ventura, wine & cheese and readings by Prison Writes blog contributors Justin Corney and Rafael Carrera! We hope to see you there!
When the day finally came to set me free, I didn’t really have any plans for what’s my life was going to be. All I could think of was just I am out but I am still as empty as I was back in. Somehow, I am not as excited as I have imagined it. That is probably because of the fact that no one was waiting for me outside. The first thing I decided to do was head straight to the city. I didn’t want to see my family yet. I don’t think they would want to. The fact that they only visited me once for the last five years, I suppose that explains why. I took the first bus, still no plans and no reason for me to look out for my future. What I need now is a breath of fresh air and hope to goodness I could
Because we are free we have an obligation to represent those who are not. As I write this, as you read this, an estimated 80,000 people are sitting in solitary confinement in the United States. Many researchers consider this a low estimate. Please see Solitary Watch The fact that solitary is counterproductive as either a deterrent or rehabilitation was soon discovered by those who first created and implemented the practice; Quakers. Quakers believed that criminals had gone astray because they lost their connection with God. They reasoned that if all other stimulus were removed, they could re-connect with God and be rehabilitated. Their cells were designed for total sensory deprivation, with
If You Knew Me, by Arkia If you knew me You would know I’m smart, beautiful, and kind I’ve been through a lot And wore a smile as a disguise. I wonder if you could see The pain in my eyes, all the silent cries Sometimes I wish God would send me A sign of my overall purpose in life More happiness and less traumatizing sights. So if you really knew me would you really want to know I’ve been through the worst tragedy in life To the point my body felt life-less and cold You would want to leave and go. That, if you really knew me, you would know I’m a young inquisitive mom I’ve been to hell and back plenty and plenty of times. Arkia is a participant in our workshops with young women in the Gender
