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
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
Pictures Don’t Lie
So, I’m looking at this car, right. It’s a mess. Yeah, it’s not going anywhere. It looks like a spaghetti strainer. Holes everywhere. Big holes.I’m thinking, “What’s up with… 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