The movement to privatize prisons demands the creation of a public image that can attract sponsors and investors, even if it obfuscates how men and women are warehoused in these facilities. Such distortions are usually called propaganda; in our age they are called marketing. The PEN Prison Writing Committee and its colleagues at The Writer’s Foundry document these processes by observing prison products.

With Ayana Byrd, Rita Hickey, Helen Hofling, Randall Horton, Audrey Matson, Bernice McFadden, W.D. Moore, Ron Mwangaguhunga, Alyssa Proujansky, Emily Rubin, Tim Small, Jackson Taylor, Alexa Wilding, Crystal Yeung 

This event is part of a two-part series. See also Part Two: The Language of Corporate Corrections

Hosted by The Cooper Union Office of Continuing Education and Public Programs

See the complete photo album here.


This event took place as part of the 2016 PEN World Voices Festival. It was held at the Frederick P. Rose Auditorium at Cooper Union on April 30, 2016.