Tag Archives: prison program

Arts in Prison at Lansing Correctional Facility

A recent article in the Kansas City Star discusses the positive impact of of the Arts in Prison poetry class. Arts in Prison exposes inmates to a myriad of artistic endeavors including visual arts, singing, and even Shakespearean performances!

Of their poetry program, inmate Wise Hayes shares his observation that “by writing poetry and writing raps, I found a kind of spiritual release.”

Read more about the extensive opportunities Arts in Prison is able to provide Lansing Correctional Facility inmates here.

Prison Anthology to be Published in UK

“Writing has always been associated with freedom.” — Lleucu Siencyn, Wales Online

Our friends over in the United Kingdom share similar ideas about writing while incarcerated. A recent opinion piece in Wales Online discusses Literature Wales which ran creative writing classes and reading workshops in prisons through the Write for Life program. This program saw 500+ inmates over the course of a 2 year period. An anthology of that work will be published at the end of the month. Also of note, Siencyn discusses protests of the November 2013 United Kingdom ban on sending books (among other things) to prisoners. See the full article here.

“Through education, reading and creative writing, prison offers opportunities to learn new skills, hone old ones and build confidence, better preparing offenders for ‘life outside.'” — Lleucu Siencyn, Wales Online

Voices Across American Prisons Compiled in New Book

Doran Larson, a Hamilton College professor, solicited prison education programs across the nation for submissions for the recently published book Fourth City: Essays from the Prison in America. In addition to editing and curating Fourth City, Larson teaches a class at Attica, as well as a “Prison Writing” course at Hamilton College.

The term “fourth city” comes from the idea that the 2.26 million incarcerated Americans out-number the fourth largest city in America (Houston, at 2.1 according to the 2012 census).

Larson’s experience stresses the importance of sharing the voices of those who are incarcerated. Of the book and its authors he states: “they cannot express the depth of their thanks; they are thankful even to know someone wants to read their work, let alone publish it.”

Read the full article here.