"This is one of the best books on writing that I've ever read. I
couldn't put it down."
--Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow
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.
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.
The Sentences That Create Us includes contributions from Alexa
Alemanni; Raquel Almazan; Ellen Bass; Reginald Dwayne Betts; Keri
Blakinger; Jennifer Bowen; Zeke Caligiuri; Sterling Cunio; Chris Daley;
Curtis Dawkins; Emile DeWeaver; Casey Donahue; Ryan Gattis; Eli Hager;
Ashley Hamilton, PhD; Kenneth Hartman; Elizabeth Hawes; Randall Horton;
Spoon Jackson; Mitchell S. Jackson; Nicole Shawan Junior; Yukari Iwatani
Kane, Shaheen Pasha, and Kate McQueen of The Prison Journalism Project;
Piper Kerman; Lauren Kessler; Johnny Kovatch; Doran Larson; Victoria
Law; Jaeah Lee; John J. Lennon; Arthur Longworth; T Kira Mahealani
Madden; J. D. Mathes; Justin Rovillos Monson; Lateef Mtima, JD; Vivian
D. Nixon; Patrick O'Neil; Liza Jessie Peterson; Wilbert Rideau; Alejo
Rodriguez; Luis J. Rodriguez; Susan Rosenberg; Geraldine Sealey; Sarah
Shourd; Sarah Shourd; Anderson Smith, PhD; Derek R. Trumbo Sr.; Louise
K. WaaKaa'igan; Andy Warner; Thomas Bartlett Whitaker; John R. Whitman,
PhD; Saint James Harris Wood; Earlonne Woods and Nigel Poor of Ear
Hustle; and Jeffery L. Young.
