by Mary Adams, AWC The Hague
Most of us feel like we have been in prison during the pandemic. Teenagers, especially, feel isolated and alone because they are out of school, bored and restless. Has it ever crossed your mind to wonder about the impact of the pandemic on youth in prison? Would you agree that the power of literacy can break the prison bars and free the mind? Would you agree that education can stop violence? Free Minds, a prison book club, uses poetry, books and creative writing as a tool to empower incarcerated youth to transform their lives.
Let’s start with pandemic poetry
I have been a poet since I was a teenager. The words, imagery and cadence gave me a form of self-expression that helped me learn my own identity. After university, I found it difficult to find colleagues who read or wrote poetry. I myself slipped into a writing lapse. However, during the pandemic, I have written more poems than I have in many years. Writing is a special way of finding and expressing life’s shades of gray in literacy.
Prison book club members are also using poetry as a healing tool to express themselves and their anxieties about confinement during the pandemic. The Poet Ambassadors are a group of 25 Free Minds “reentry” members. These men have been incarcerated since the age of 16 or 17. Free Minds enabled them to write their first poems and read their first books during their jail sentences. They became avid readers and writers throughout their incarceration and pursued education via GED programs. These men are motivated to give back to their community by sharing the strength and wisdom that writing has given them to prevent future violence. Listen here to the stories and poetry of three men who grew up in the prison system.
Free Minds hosts a monthly “On the Same Page Night,” where community volunteers and the Poet Ambassadors provide feedback on the poetry of members who remain incarcerated, which is then returned to the poet. It is a simple but powerful way to support members’ processes of self-awareness and change. To read and comment on the prison poetry blog, please click here.
Books clubs create a new way of seeing the world and talking with others about experiences, philosophies and life. Just as many of the FAWCO Member Clubs find friendship and purpose in their local book clubs, Free Minds facilitates four book clubs to bring literacy to prison life and reach out beyond the bars.
- Incarcerated Youth Book Club: Books and creative writing have an incredible power to teach, build community, inspire individuals and change lives. Free Minds runs book clubs and writing workshops at the DC Jail and juvenile detention center and a long-distance, correspondence-based book club with members in the federal prison. Check out the contemporary literature in the Juvenile Book Club List.
- Jail Book Club is for adults (18–24). The Jail Book Club reads and discusses literature that is relevant to members’ lives, including hosted author reading sessions. Check out the Women’s Book Club Selections.
- Prison Book Club provides long-distance, written correspondence to members in over 50 federal facilities. Members are sent 12 books each year, which are individually selected and tailored towards their interests. Members vote on a “Books Across the Miles” book, which is sent to every member along with discussion questions. Their responses are featured in the bi-monthly magazine Connect, which features poetry, essays and artwork from Free Minds members, staff and friends.
- Re-entry Book Club and Writing Workshop is also known as “The Build Up.” This refers to how prison and the streets tear people down, but Free Minds Counting builds people up. Re-entry members have selected books such as The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander and Descent by Clint Smith. Click here for a list of books read in the Re-entry Book Club.
Volunteer support has helped Free Minds bridge gaps and give back, encouraging members to write new chapters in their lives, one page at a time. There are a number of ways that you can volunteer with Free Minds, from book donations to participation to internships.
Photo: Canva P
