We travel to Indianapolis, IN to explore the story of literary great Etheridge Knight, who published his first book, the soulful 1968 masterpiece “Poems from Prison,” while incarcerated at Indiana State Prison. Knight wrote as a prisoner, drug-addict and Korean War veteran. In this episode PPW explores the beauty and complexities of his work and life. 

Indiana: Etheridge Knight

John Lomax and his son Alan toured the South in the 1930s gathering music for the Library of Congress.  Life then, and now, can be pretty tough in Alabama prisons.  We travel with the inspirational Alabama Prison Arts & Education Project looking for prison poetry and prison poets to discover how the music of poetry heals. www.prisonpoetryworkshop.org 

Alabama: Black Birds Singing

Sit in any prison classroom or recreation room in any prison in the country and ask yourself: How many writers are in the room. How many people are writing rhymes or poems? Carefully-folded pieces of paper come out of pockets – words written in tightly stylized hand-writing. And more often than not, writing is kept hidden in prisons - not out in the open. So today, we’re traveling not just to San Quentin but around the country to unpack this art form called prison poetry. We’ll visit the life of one legendary prison poet of the 1960s - who eventually helped lead a literary movement. We’ll visit the backwoods of Alabama to find poets who are currently incarcerated… and who can knock your socks off with just a few dozen words. And we’ll ask you, the listener, to write a little poetry too. www.prisonpoetryworkshop.org

Marquee: We Free Singers Be

We sat with Reginald Dwayne Betts and listened as he shared his own story of incarceration and his ongoing process of becoming a writer and poet. Prison Poetry Workshop has asked poets from across the country to record a special workshop for our listeners. Feel free to play this series for incarcerated, or formerly incarcerated youth and adults and ask them to write their own poetry in response and send them to us. Responses may be posted on the Prison Poetry Workshop website and shared with our listening audience. 

Workshop with Dwayne Betts

Radio documentary about the Thousand Kites project.

Performing Thousand Kites (Radio Documentary)

Powerful words about the impact of incarceration on a Houston family and a plea to, "stop making our prisons and justice system a corporation."  Moving words about the impact of incarceration on a Houston family. Help support Texas Families at the Texas Family For Justice November 7th rally.

Do you have a story to share about the impact of incarceration on your family or community? Share your story and let the voices of those affected by the criminal justice system be heard by calling 1-877-410-4863 or uploading a video here! 

Powerful Words from Houston

As a member of the Human Rights Defense Center staff, Panagioti Tsolkas’ fights against a federal prison in Appalachian mountains.  Their campaign addresses prison services that financially exploit prisoners and their families. In an effort to stop mass incarceration and environmental degradation. https://tinyurl.com/nhp8kjy

Prison Ecology Project

While Turtle serves a life sense she still fights to stay connected with her daughter.

Turtle Story

A sample from the upcoming Storm Stories series which tells the story of Hurricane Florence. Produced by Working Narratives.

Storm Stories Samples

Incredible.  This is what resiliency sounds like. Storm Stories podcast asked folks to call in messages of support to their neighbors and the response so far has been overwhelming---45+ calls across 7 counties. Take a listen, and consider sharing your own message of encouragement by calling 910-604-6519. We will keep adding to and sharing these messages! #ilmstrong #dorian #hurricanedorian

Storm Stories: Hurricane Dorian Special

Working Narratives is a southern arts and social justice organization. We believe that social movements thrive and win when they draw on participants’ personal experiences and local cultures. By telling stories—whether in the form of performance, radio, video, or other media—movements build power, envision new democratic possibilities, and change culture and policy. Our work is located at the intersection of arts, technology, and policy.

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