Prison Arts
I often receive requests for advice from people who want to share art with people in prison. I have compiled some basic information on this page.
People write me because I taught poetry at San Quentin in the 1980s through California's and in many prisons nationally since then.
- You can read
- and learn about my memoir, .
To get a deep sense of what art-making means to someone inside prison, I suggest reading this and this by my former student, Spoon Jackson. Spoon is co-author of By Heart: Poetry, Prison, and Two Lives. There's lots more information about this two-person memoir Spoon and I wrote elsewhere on this site and the By Heart page both on Facebook and on . And is a PBS segment on Richard Shelton's wonderful prison poetry workshop in Arizona.
Classic prison writers range from Jack Henry Abbott to Piri Thomas. A few recent books by people inside are
- by Boston Woodard
- by Kenneth E. Hartmann
- T by Jarvis Masters
- by R. Dwayne Betts
- by Jarvis Masters
- by J.C. Amberchele
- by Dale McCurry
- and by Ken Lamberton
- by Peter Nathaniel Malae
The past fifteen years have seen some excellent anthologies of prisoner writing, including:
- (edited by Bell Chevigny)
- and (by the women of York Correctional Institution in Connecticut and edited by workshop leader, Wally Lamb)
- (edited by H. Bruce Franklin)
- (an international anthology of prisoner writing edited by Siobhan Dowd)
- (edited by Jeff Evans)
- (edited by Judith A. Scheffler).
Phyllis Kornfeld's is a beautiful collection of visual art made by people in prison.
Although materials and desire are all one needs to make art, there are an increasing number of programs through which people from the outside come inside to share. is an excellent source of information about existing programs and central issues.
Some programs are based in universities, some are nonprofits, some are government programs, and still others exist through church groups or because of dedicated individuals (sometimes these are and sometimes "free people.") Buzz Alexander's I is a completely fantastic book in every way, including what it takes to create and develop an outstanding program.
Here are four excellent programs (including PCAP) among dozens:
The allows conversation and shared information among people sharing art in and around correctional settings.
has an annual prison writing contest and offers many ways for writers on the outside to work with writers on the inside.
, by Patricia McConnel, is the best single resource I know for sharing art inside. Patricia has served time herself and her knowledge, and ability to express this knowledge, is deep.
Other excellent resources are:
- edited by Rachel Marie-Crane Williams
- Handbook for Writers in Prison and Words Over Walls: Starting a Writing Workshop in a Prison (which were prepared for, and distributed by, ).
- Also, I wrote a (PDF) in 1989 that many have found useful.
Many programs want, or find they must, evaluate whether participating prisoners have a decreased incidence of disciplinary actions and/or lower rates of recidivism. is one of the earliest evaluations.
Many who have worked inside have written about the experience. Some of these books combine the writing of prisoner students and their instructors. Three of these are:
- (Margo Perin)
- (Robert Ellis Gordon)
- (Drew Leder)
There are also memoirs, such as my own Disguised, and other nonfiction descriptions.
- by Mark Salzman, is a wonderfully well written account
- by journalist Ted Conover, gives a good sense of prison from a guard's point of view
- by Richard Shelton (see my post on this book on the blog page of this site)
Many of us who have worked inside feel - not only a strong pull and commitment to the actual men and women we've met, not only awe and appreciation for the ability of so many prisoners to keep soul alive - but also tremendous anger and frustration at current prison policies and practices. There are many books that give the facts behind our feelings. Here are two that give historical perspective
- by Scott Christianson
- by Eric Cummins
And here are a few of the dozens that explore various aspects of what has come to be called "the prison industrial complex:"
- by Joseph T. Hallinan
- by Joe Domanick
- by Jennifer Gonnerman
- by Joan Petersilia
- by Nell Bernstein.
Some books examine both the work of artists teaching inside and what these artists have learned about the prison industrial complex from seeing prison close-up:
- edited by Stephen John Hartnett
And here are excellent websites ( and ) that explore the complexity of issues and points of view.
There are also many fine that explore prisons and the prison crisis. Here's a from Thousand Kites.
A few of the many organizations focused on prison issues are
Each of these sites has links to many more resources.
Increasingly artists on the outside -- many of whose relationship to prison is not personal but is as citizens -- are exploring issues of mass incarceration, who we lock up, freedom, etc. Intersection for the Arts hosted a long inquiry into these questions and the book arose from that process. for many weeks in the fall of 2010 and are continuing to examine the themes of the play in relation to prison during a variety of . The work, process, and context of is particularly interesting.