Spring Reading

Our classes at ACJ celebrated their work at our formal spring reading this morning.  Topics ranged from broken hearts, to fishing, to fatherhood.  The men's thursday class kicked things off, followed by the men's friday class, the women's monday class, and the juveniles finished things off with a several energetic songs.

For us teachers, it was one of many proud moments. The smiles we get after handing out certificates are priceless, as is the elation of an audience clapping their hands for their classmates.   Yet, as all of us learned, the magic is not only in the finished product.  We learn so much from our students every week.  We hear incredible stories and make strides in tiny moments.  

Sadly, this was the final reading for several of our teachers.  Here's to Rachel, Karen, Kellyn, and Michelle, for their hard work and dedication to this program over the last two years. For some of us, this is only the beginning.  Summer classes kick off the first week of June!

Next up is our fundraiser and reading from the Maenads on April 13th.  We'll be celebrating the work of an amazing group of women in our first year of this new program, as well as reading a few pieces from the last year of our men's program at SCI Pittsburgh.  If you haven't yet, register here: https://www.chatham.edu/events/details.cfm?eventID=18126 or feel free to donate the price of admission for someone who can't afford a ticket. 

  

Tickets Available for April 13th Fundraiser

We are very excited to announce that tickets have just gone on sale for our fundraising event on April 13th Irma Freeman Center for the Imagination.  The event is part art exhibit, part poetry reading.Our maenad fellows have worked all semester creating broadsides of their creative work.  We're also making unique prints of select works from our students at SCI Pittsburgh.   These men wrote ekphrastic poems and prose from Mark Perrot's collection of photographs, E Block, which will also be on display next to our students' framed work!  Prominent Pittsburgh artists will read work from SCI writers, while the Maenads will read their own work.

Broadsides and chapbooks will be on sale throughout the evening, but there is limited space for this event!

There are several ways to participate:

$30 VIP Tickets. Includes admission, broadside & chapbook.

$20: Admission Ticket.

$20: Angel Admission. Your purchase of an angel ticket will allow someone who can't afford a ticket to attend in your place.

Tickets are available at: https://www.chatham.edu/events/register/?EventID=18126

If you cannot attend, or simply would like to donate, you can always MAKE A GIFT

Again, space is limited, so act now and reserve your spot!  

Chapbook Season

It's chapbook season, here at Words Without Walls!  We've been busy with in-class revision, getting reading to submit work to print in the chapbook. The formal reading is only two weeks away. 

I thought I'd share a short poem with you all from one of our students in the Thursday men's class, J. Myers.  J. has come to class with great work throughout the semester, and he's also shown tremendous progress with his writing. This piece isn't going in the chapbook, but he gave us permission to share it here, with you all.  Thanks for reading!

"God Is Real"

So you really think the Sun, moon, and stars came from a big bang.

I wouldn’t buy that for a few dollars and some pocket change.

Maybe you think some alien’s kids are playing some big game,

On this field called a planet with little earthlings.

The body, brain, and heart should at least be some signs,

That all of this couldn’t have just popped up at one point in time.

I rather believe in something and be right,

Than believe in nothing and be wrong.

Cuz if you’re right you have everything to gain,

and if you’re wrong you have nothing to lose, maybe just your soul.

This is no debate don’t be confused it’s out of your control.

But we all have freewill when it comes to our destiny and goals!

Cause life is a gift and death is no surprise,

God is real, God is real, it’s not too late to realize!

--J. Myers

AWP Service Project: Free Minds Book Club & Writing Workshop

The AWP conference was a whirlwind of panels and readings and networking, but what really stood out was this service project at the book fair.  Free Minds Book Club, a DC organization dedicated to teaching and empowering incarcerated DC youth, brought in a workshop's worth of poems from youth in adult prisons.  

Conference attendees were prompted to respond with encouraging handwritten feedback, and in the process, read some great poetry from young voices who need to be heard. I also thought the blue handout pictured above gave some great tips on how to give useful, lasting feedback to young writers. This was a fantastic idea for a project, and an activity we're absolutely considering for our next event in April.  Stay tuned for more info!

For more information about Free Minds Book Club, check out their website at http://freemindsbookclub.org/

Autobiography in the Making

This semester I decided to center our class around the theme of autobiography.  I've been bringing in different examples of autobiographical work that include short stories, poems, and excerpts from full-length books. One of my students, I'll call him D, was immediately engaged at the thought of writing his own autobiography.  The very first class, he opened his notebook and started writing pages of work, all while participating in discussion and reading the texts that day.

D has always been an amazing student.  He loves to read aloud, share his work with others, and participates beyond expectations with all of my writing assignments.  Sixteen years old, people!  All of this, dealing with the everyday distractions you might expect with a high school class in an adult jail.  

We're four weeks in, and yesterday, D approached me with 25 pages of writing, filled with stories from his childhood.  It's been such a pleasure having him in class, and reading his work was probably the most rewarding experience I've had so far teaching in this program. I've already bragged about his work with my peers and friends, but I thought i'd share the title page with you all, complete with a self-drawn cover!  I can't wait to see what comes next from D.  If it's another 25 pages, then we've got a serious book in the making!

Thanks for reading.  I'll be sure to keep updating the blog with progress from D, along with work from my other amazing and talented students.  

Mike Bennett, Words Without Walls Teaching Artist