PEN America Handbook for Writers in Prison : Crafting a Writer's Life in Prison

__The Sentences That Create Us__ draws from the unique insights of over fifty justice-involved contributors and their allies to offer inspiration and resources for creating a literary life in prison. Centering in the philosophy that writers in prison can be as vibrant and capable as writers on the outside, and have much to offer readers everywhere, __The Sentences That Create Us__ aims to propel writers in prison to launch their work into the world beyond the walls, while also embracing and supporting the creative community within the walls. __The Sentences That Create Us__ is a comprehensive resource writers can grow with, beginning with the foundations of creative writing. A roster of impressive contributors including Reginald Dwayne Betts (__Felon: Poems__), Mitchell S. Jackson (__Survival Math__), Wilbert Rideau (__In the Place of Justice__) and Piper Kerman (__Orange is the New Black__), among many others, address working within and around the severe institutional, emotional, psychological and physical limitations of writing prison through compelling first-person narratives. The book's authors offer pragmatic advice on editing techniques, pathways to publication, writing routines, launching incarcerated-run prison publications and writing groups, lesson plans from prison educators and next-step resources. Threaded throughout the book is the running theme of addressing lived trauma in writing, and writing's capacity to support an authentic healing journey centered in accountability and restoration. While written towards people in the justice system, this book can serve anyone seeking hard won lessons and inspiration for their own creative--and human--journey. Intro Copyright Contents About PEN America Foreword Editor's Note: How to Read This Book PEN Prison Writing: Then and Now, In and Out Part I: Foundations of Creative Writing On Poetry On Fiction On Nonfiction Memoir On Dramatic Theater On Screenwriting On Graphic Narrative On Journalism The Prison Journalism Project's Quick Journalism Reference Guide A Guide to Grammar and Punctuation After Grammar: Learning How to Transition Re-Vision Part II: Crafting a Writer's Life in Prison Introduction The Price of Remaining Human The Most Important Thing (and a Few Other Rules) On Publishing from Prison Copyright Protection in Brief Burn the Spot: On Writing about People You Know The Power of Grieving in Words And Still I Write: Creative Expression for Self-Advocacy Every Story Needs Hope: Why You Should Write about Prison Start and End with the Feeling of Home: How I Developed My Poetry Manuscript On Writing and Staging a Play in Prison Gift Culture: On Collaborating through the Walls As for the Rest of Us: How to Win a Fellowship with No Support "Prison Writer": A Meditation on Histories and the Sentences that Create Them Part III: On Building Writing Community Introduction On Building Prison Writing Communities Remix the Plan, Return to the Purpose: How to Center Participant Storytelling in Writing Workshops No Pen or Paper Required: The Art and Practice of Community Storytelling Part IV: Writing Exercises Translating to the Page On Using Small Stories to Illuminate Big Issues Writing the Poem of the Moment Attention to Memory The Inherent Magic of Objects Apple Is for Identity and Other Prompts Personifying Location A Letter to My Ancestors Imagining Worlds: From Page to Stage Workshop Solitaire: Using Questions to Strengthen a Story Epilogue: A Writing Life in Community-from Inside Out Further Reading Further Resources Acknowledgments About the Contributors Permissions Index Back Cover Offers a collection of essays that draw from the unique insights of over fifty justice-involved contributors and their allies to offer inspiration and resources for creating a literary life in prison. Centering in the philosophy that writers in prison can be as vibrant and capable as writers on the outside, and have much to offer readers everywhere, this collection aims to propel writers in prison to launch their work into the world beyond the walls, while also embracing and supporting the creative community within the walls. This volume is a comprehensive resource writers can grow with, beginning with the foundations of creative writing. A roster of contributors including Reginald Dwayne Betts (Felon: Poems), Mitchell S. Jackson (Survival Math), Wilbert Rideau (In the Place of Justice) and Piper Kerman (Orange is the New Black), among many others, address working within and around the severe institutional, emotional, psychological and physical limitations of writing prison through compelling first-person narratives. The book's authors offer pragmatic advice on editing techniques, pathways to publication, writing routines, launching incarcerated-run prison publications and writing groups, lesson plans from prison educators and next-step resources. Threaded throughout the book is the running theme of addressing lived trauma in writing, and writing's capacity to support an authentic healing journey centered in accountability and restoration. --From publisher description "The Sentences That Create Us provides a road map for incarcerated people and their allies to have a thriving writing life behind bars--and shared beyond the walls--that draws on the unique insights of more than fifty contributors, most themselves justice-involved, to offer advice, inspiration and resources"--Publisher The Sentences That Create Us provides a roadmap for incarcerated people and their allies to have a thriving writing life behind bars--and through walls--drawing on the unique insights of over 50 justice-involved contributors and their allies to offer advice, inspiration and resources.