The Speaking Archive: Words from the House of the Dead
Valentina Flores finds a 1971 anthology by incarcerated writers at Interference Archive, a community-based organization in Brooklyn, New York City. More
What’s Mildred Taylor Got to Do With It?: Race, Prison Book Bans, and the Power in Storytelling
In this essay on prison book bans, Moira Marquis uses "The 1619 Project" to explain how limiting access to Black history and culture is deleterious to people who are… More
Introducing “Unsealed:” Inside the Letters of PEN America’s Prison and Justice Writing Program
Jess Abolafia on the challenges of communication through prison walls via physical, handwritten mail. More
Remember This: On Celes Tisdale’s “When the Smoke Cleared: Attica Prison Poems and Journal”
Malcolm Tariq reviews Celes Tisdale's "When the Smoke Cleared: Attica Prison Poems and Journal" (Duke University Press, 2022). More
Character Development: A National Novel Writing Month Pep Talk
Writer William Myrl Smitherman writes a pep talk for incarcerated writers for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). More
On Pressing the Bounds of What’s Possible: A Conversation with Emile DeWeaver
PEN America Prison and Justice Writing intern Charley Burlock interviews writer Emile DeWeaver. More
The Cop in Your Head: On Andy West’s “The Life Inside”
PEN America's Tomás Miriti Pacheco reviews Andy West's "The Life Inside: A Memoir of Prison, Family and Philosophy" (Picador, 2022). More
Record Label Die Jim Crow Gives Incarcerated Artists the Spotlight
PEN America intern Tomás Miriti Pacheco features Die Jim Crow Records, the first record label dedicated to incarcerated artists in the United States. More
A Movement to Bend the Arc: Keeda J. Haynes’ Memoir on Second-Chance Culture
Emma Stammen reviews Keeda J. Haynes' memoir, "Bending the Arc: My Journey from Prison to Politics" (Seal Books, 2021). More
Multiplicity and Narratives of Confinement in “Faces of Resilience,” Presented by the Barnes Foundation and Mural Arts Philadelphia
PEN America intern Alexandra Fiorentino-Swinton reviews "Faces of Resilience," a show featuring artists who are justice-involved, presented by the Barnes Foundation and Mural Arts Philadelphia. More