Partnerships that Defy Prison Walls
Apogee Journal, Black Lipstick, PLSN, Brooklyn Public Library + 11 new stories
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Our calendar is full of projects and partnerships that defy prison walls! To build off our partnership with Apogee Journal to produce INSIDE/OUT, the journal welcomed Demetrius Buckley and Paris Whitfield as inside editors of the Perigee Outreach section, which will exclusively feature work across all genres by systems-impacted writers and artists. Meech and Paris join a groundbreaking group of writers in editorial and leadership roles while still incarcerated.
Next, we are excited to partner with Substack newsletter Black Lipstick on a column that will regularly publish woman and queer writers who are incarcerated. Check out the announcement here; don’t miss inaugural stories from Tomiekia Johnson and Mithrellas Curtis.
Then, following the launch of Corey Devon Arthur’s exhibit She Told Me Save The Flower one year ago, we’ve been working with the Brooklyn Public Library to re-launch the show with library-focused programming. She Told Me Save The Flower is debuting at the Macon Library in its African American Heritage Center on Thursday, March 21st. The opening reception will be held at the library between 5:30pm and 7:30pm.
Finally, we have been eager to work with our friends at Prison Library Support Network and the dream is coming true. On Monday, March 11th, 7:30-8:30pm EST, we’ll join PLSN for its first Abolitionist Future's Discussion Group of 2024 to discuss Artistic Expressions from the Inside. Register for the zoom event here. And as part of Save the Flower at the Macon Library, we’ll co-host a Prison Library Support Network info session at the Macon Library on Saturday April 27th, between 2 and 4pm.
As the partnerships flourish, writers keep doing their thing. Check out the work that published below, plus amazing fellowship news for Kwaneta Harris and Michele Scott, among other impacted writers.
Our Latest Work
For The Appeal1, Christopher Blackwell and Deborah Zalesne wrote a piece about New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ veto of a bill that would effectively ban solitary confinement in the city’s jails (which was then overrode by city council). “The silence of prolonged isolation creates a deafening noise in one’s head. Instead of an opportunity to reflect, it’s a cruelty designed to make anyone mad.”
And for The Nation2, Christopher Blackwell alongside Rachel Zarrow reported the story of Cassandra Butler, who has been caring for loved ones in prison for two decades. She is one of the untold numbers of women whose labor on behalf of incarcerated people often flies under the radar.
Back this month with his On The Fence column for International Examiner3, Felix Sitthivong wrote about how fentanyl overdoses prompt searches disguised as “fire drills”—an excuse for guards to single out and punish certain people. “Administration looked at this as their opportunity to punish who they wanted to punish and settle any old scores,” he writes.
For Bay City News4, Steve Brooks penned a moving personal requiem for the prison newspaper San Quentin News. You'll even catch an Empowerment Ave shout-out in here. “While newsrooms are dying all across America, a little-known newsroom inside San Quentin is thriving.”
A double whammy from Steve Brooks for Bay City News this month with his piece "Words matter at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center." "One of the big changes at [San Quentin Rehabilitation Center] will target the way in which language is used," he writes.
Heather Jarvis (now home!) for Prism5 wrote about the importance of rehabilitation resources for breaking the cycle of intergenerational incarceration. Last year, her oldest daughter went to juvenile detention, completing the three-generation cycle of incarcerated women. “I will model something new & different,” she says.
This month, we worked with Shado Magazine6, a London-based pub working to unite people around social justice. Tony Cobb shared a powerful story about overheating in Florida prisons. “When the doors are locked, our cells resemble a cage; when the heat settles in, it feels like an oven.”
WA Clemency and Pardons Board "essentially sentenced me to death," Donald Snook, 70, who has Stage 3 cancer and end-stage COPD, told Jonathan Kirkpatrick for his latest Filter Mag7 column. Snook has been incarcerated since 1974. "I’ll be dead before I can file for clemency again in two years." You can read Part 1 of this story here and Part 2 here.
For ‘68 to ‘058, a project of prolific writer Hanif Abdurraqib, Demetrius Buckley wrote about the Sade album Love Deluxe. "A saxophone warps through the speakers, the harp thumb-strokes like picking scabs back into sores..."
Aaron Kinzer, an EA writer who is now home, has just released his poetry book! You can order OUTSIDE THE MARGIN OF ERROR: A Prisoners Poem Collection right here.
Phillip Vance Smith II also wrote a poetry book, LIFE: Learning Instructions for Everyone...in Prison & Out! You can buy it here. Proceeds go to Our Journey, a reentry nonprofit founded by formerly incarcerated people. Formerly incarcerated TikToker Jesse Crosson gave it a shoutout, and it also got a beautiful review by David Cecelski.
Inside/Outside Insights
CONGRATS: Major congratulations to the Haymarket Books Writing Freedom fellows. We are especially thrilled for Kwaneta Harris, who we supported through this application process, and Michele Scott, who we worked with while she was incarcerated.
SIGN: We are supporting two campaigns that we hope you’ll add your name to. One is to demand that Kwaneta Harris is released from solitary confinement. The second is to support the parole of Carla Simmons.
LISTEN: You can hear Christopher Blackwell read his essay Birds Will Be Birds in an episode of the Writing Class Radio podcast. Find it here.
SHOUTOUT: Christopher Blackwell got a shoutout by formerly incarcerated Richie Reseda, whose entrepreneurial success was featured in Forbes.
WATCH: Check out 5 BLOCK, a new film that digs into the healing journey of Jose Flores, currently incarcerated at California State Prison. Kunlyna Tauch, also incarcerated at CSP, has a few production credits!
SAYING GOODBYE: The Only Door I Can Open, our virtual exhibition with Museum of African Diaspora, is closing this month after a powerful run. (Check out some artist spotlights on our IG.) MoAD will archive the exhibit online so it will still be viewable at the above link.
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The Appeal is a nonprofit news organization dedicated to exposing how the U.S. criminal legal system fails to keep people safe and perpetuates harm. They pay $1 per word.
The Nation is a progressive American biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis.
International Examiner is the oldest and largest nonprofit, pan-Asian Pacific American publication in the Northwest. They pay $100 for an opinion piece
Bay City News is a news agency based in the San Francisco Bay Area that focuses on general interest news.
Prism launched the Right to Write Project to feature and pay incarcerated writers. They pay .50 per word.
Shado Magazine is a London-based pub working to unite people around social justice. They pay about $180 for an essay.
Filter’s mission is to advocate through journalism for rational and compassionate approaches to drug use, drug policy, and human rights. They pay $300 per essay.
‘68 to ‘05 is a project of prolific writer Hanif Abdurraqib “to help me build small maps of the decades I decided most impacted me as a listener of music.”