CURRENT OFFERINGS:

The Writers in Prisons Project runs four weekly classes: Afro-American Studies, Fiction Reading Group, Creative Writing--Poetry, and Creative Writing--Memoir. There are 2 to 3 co-facilitators for each class and 10-18 participants; each class meets for two hours. All participation is voluntary. Our process in teaching is collaborative, both between class facilitators, and between class facilitators and participants. We believe in student-centered learning, are focused on creating a supportive learning community that values each member, and we tailor curriculum to the expertise and interest of each group of members. We are also in consistent contact with prison administration and corrections officers so that we can continue to offer classes of value to the inmates while respecting the rules and regulations of the facility.

For detailed information about the curriculum of any of the classes listed, or for information on how teaching in a correctional facility can change the structure or content of a course, feel free to contact us.

PROJECT HISTORY:

In 2005, two graduate students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Ray Hsu and Marianne Erhardt) started teaching a poetry writing workshop at Oakhill Correctional, a prison near Madison, Wisconsin. After co-teaching the class for two years, both graduated and moved on: Ray to a postdoctoral teaching position at the University of British Colombia, and Marian to a position with The Sun Magazine. In 2008 Laurel Bastian, a poet and teacher in Madison, restarted the class with poet J.D. Nordell, and Laurel and many others continued and expanded the classes over the next 4 years. By inviting the involvement and ideas of dozens of writers, readers, and scholars in the community, and with their volunteered time and energy, the collective of the Writers in Prisons Project was born. Just as important to the formation of the Project has been continuously asking the men what they would like to see and participate in, and through harnessing the ideas of volunteers and the ideas of participants, we have expanded to offer four weekly classes (see current offerings). The collective of writers on the "outside" who now make up the Writers is Prisons Project focus on bringing in additional dynamic visitors and instructors from the community and the academy in an attempt to offer classes which are rich, engaging, and varied for as many participants as possible. If you'd be interested in being a part of this collaboration as a guest visitor, volunteer, or contributor, find out more on our get involved page.

FUTURE PLANS:

There is no end of resources in our communities. There is no end of needs in our communities. Our job as community members anywhere is to try and match those things up creatively, and to remember that both resources and needs are often come from different sources than we might commonly assume. This creative matching, and this checking of our own assumptions, is a large part of the work we must keep challenging ourselves to do in bringing classes into the prison.

We hope to expand and offer classes at other institutions, especially Taycheedah, Wisconsin's women's facility. We would be excited to welcome you or to support you in your own initiatives, wherever you are.