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Prison Walls
The light don’t shine for every in Prison by these steel beds. My heart is rock solid as concrete. I cry steel tear on the cloud day nothing… More
Prison Eulogies
Prison EulogiesThe ones who diednever mattered muchexcept in herewhere the stories never endbecause they’re too realMichellewho beat her girluntil she got outand got her own selfkilledStellawho laughed & laugheduntil… More
Check Out Day
There’s always a way out of prison, any prison, and it can be done right now, today. The authorities can’t stop you. Well, they can slow you down if… More
Frontline Reflections of a Drug War Journalist
My mouth is dry. I’ve been breathing open-mouthed, out of control. Once the rush of adrenaline subsides, my pulse will return to normal and my mouth will moisten again.A… More
The Season
The lawn’s a frigid jigsaw puzzle of frozen brown grass Shut in for winter I sip your best scotch Your car is listed for sale in the auto shopper There’s no tree… More
An Escape Artist
At eight, I was a magicianable to slip from any confinement.After my stepfather beat meand imprisoned me in my bedroom,I decided to disappear,sneaking into the passagewaybetween the left brain… More
A Particular Sense of Peace
A particular sense of peace sits softly and silently inside.A piece (Peace) of you.A part of me.The walls we build around ourselves keep us locked inside the Prisons we… More
Things Come Together, Things Fall Apart
Turning and turning in the widening gyreThe falcon cannot hear the falconer;Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and… More
Announcing the Aura Estrada Prize
PEN Trustee Francisco Goldman has announced the establishment of the Aura Estrada Prize, a fellowship honoring the spirit and aspirations of his wife, a promising young Mexican writer who… More
PEN Appeal: Ragip Zarakolu
June 20, 2008 Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Office of the Prime Minister Basbakanlik 06573 Ankara Turkey Fax: 90-312-417-0476 Your Excellency, On behalf of the 3,300 members of PEN American Center, an international organization of writers… More
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