Interview with Patricia Prewitt
QUESTION: What was the spark that made you begin writing in prison? When did it occur? PATRICIA PREWITT: When I was sent to prison in April of 1986, my five… More
Why I Care
Doing outreach work in the Bayview-Hunters Point area of San Francisco can be fun, also dangerous, as the district has seen countless shootings of youth. I was working as… More
Poetrical Muralism
Growing up in the aftermath of the Chicano Movement of the 1960s and 70s, my generation and I were the beneficiaries of an abundance of free Chicano health clinics,… More
Origami Heart
When I pick one up at mail call I feel it slide back and forth in the flimsy blue and red striped airmail envelope, a core of your words and so much emptiness enclosed. More
Green Pants
I washed my pants today.I washed my green pants today.I washed them clean by hand.They’re a type of green that’s dark and thickA royal green, deep like bright leaves… More
After a Bomb Threat
After a Bomb ThreatI am waved to a nichewithin a crowd of bodies,half of them stripping down,The remainder uniformed in blue.Here, I will bare myselfin the pallor of shame,have… More
Arrests in America (Fuzzy Math)
Arrest by race, 2000 in AmericaTotal Arrests: 9,068,977Total Violent Crime Arrests: 414,420In the all arrest category:Whites were arrested in 6,324,006 cases, at 69.7%Blacks were arrested in 2,528,368 cases, at… More
The Faith and Character Program
8-19-04 After nearly a month in hopeful anticipation, “The Faith and Character Program/Dorm” adventure has officially begun! The first meeting with Phase I, Group A with Counselor M. was for… More
World’s Oldest Prisoner
I’m glad all you folks could be here today. Makes me feel wanted. Of course, I’ve been wanted off and on for most of the past century.I was surprised… More
A Three-Strikes Sojourn
“Dey, wake up. You have court today.”Oh man. Here we go. Judgment and sentencing. I was about to feel the entire weight of the drug war era justice system… More
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PEN America On 
Songs about 🌈🌈 are in our Top 10*
🌈 Rainbowland by Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus was banned from a spring concert set list in Wisconsin.
🌈The Rainbow Connection by the Muppets was banned, too.
😯*most surprising things banned in US schools: https://pen.org/dolly-parton-miley-cyrus-song/
Now banned: School board in Hillsborough FL voted today to ban "This Book is Gay". This is after 2 committees reviewed it and voted to keep it in schools. Here's what Juno Dawson told us @PENamerica about efforts to ban the book last fall. /1 https://twitter.com/PinkNews/status/1640834900684333056?t=Nq5SySk-nlbsC-x3UE6VbA&s=19
We thought you might be needing this:
Introducing PEN America's Twitter Bot Detection Toolkit...
We’ve rounded up a few tools to get you started—including @BotSentinel and @OSoMe_IU's Hoaxy and Botomoter—with step-by-step instructions on how to use each. https://pen.org/twitter-bot-detection-toolkit/