Kite to Kierkegaard
But there is no wisdom / That needs to be shouted / Whispering it blisters / A capriccio in braille. More
The Destitute
The / ceiling hovers like a heavy mist, / dark and putrid, thick and barbed, / chocking any head held high. More
Chessman’s Lunch
I poke at my salad, / sip water from a plastic cup / my corner fiefdom overrun now by strangers / a compromised rook / removed from the board More
Tell Me the Story Again About the Frogs, and the Seeds
Yes, yes all the plants are dead. / And all the animals bigger than scarab beetles; / but the seeds have been waiting in the ground. / When the… More
Steve Champion, PEN Prison Writing Award Winner, Hunger Strikes in San Quentin
Steve Champion, a prize-winning writer in the PEN Prison Writing contest, has been on hunger strike in the Adjustment Center (solitary confinement) of San Quentin's death row since October… More
Bleak Housing & Black Americans
The United States seems not merely to tolerate but actually to revel in inflicting barbaric human degradation upon prisoners—not just for months or years, but for decades and lifetimes... More
After Prison
I have 10 minutes until a call-out to see the mental health case manager I call Mr. Forgiveness. I don’t want to see him, not because he is always… More
Catching the Setting Sun
“Mama, why does the sun go in the water?” “To let us sleep, son. To let us sleep.” “Why do we have to sleep?” “‘Cause we tired. Ain’t you… More
Examination
For a long time I wished someone would break my nose, but nobody has ever had the guts, or, more likely, the time to do it. After a while… More
The Last Visit from the Girl in the Willow Tree
She took a hammer and busted a chunk of her summer just to come see me when my life was on the line, behind glass in jailhouse oranges. More
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