From the Inside Out Letters to Young Men and Other Writings Student Press Initiative Jimmy Santiago Baca 9781449996529 Books
Download As PDF : From the Inside Out Letters to Young Men and Other Writings Student Press Initiative Jimmy Santiago Baca 9781449996529 Books
This anthology of creative writing, introduced with a foreword by the poet Jimmy Santiago Baca, is a collection by incarcerated writers, many of whom are serving life sentences. Inspired by the desire to reach out to young men who may be in danger of incarceration themselves, the men offer, in the first section of the book, heartfelt letters written to their younger selves, their sons, their nephews, and associates still on the street. The second section of the book includes selections from each writer's portfolio, ranging from short stories and memoir kernels to a wide variety of poetry. The final section of the book includes colored illustrations from two of the writers who are also artists. The book is ideal for use in secondary classrooms and includes the writing assignment that inspired the letters.
From the Inside Out Letters to Young Men and Other Writings Student Press Initiative Jimmy Santiago Baca 9781449996529 Books
I had the privilege of hearing at a NcTE convention the professor who facilitated these inmates in their writings. How powerful!Product details
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From the Inside Out Letters to Young Men and Other Writings Student Press Initiative Jimmy Santiago Baca 9781449996529 Books Reviews
Stillwater Inmates Write a Book
FROM THE INSIDE OUT
Letters to Young Men and Other Writings
Poetry and Prose from Prison
Reviewed by Kennedy Gisege
This is a beautiful book written by 17 of our fellow inmates here at Stillwater. It is a beautiful book because the authors write letters to people they know and love; thus, no one can say they are not being genuine or sincere. They write to their unborn self, younger self, to their sons and daughters, to their fathers, to young people everywhere and above all, they write to themselves; forewarning them of wasted lives led in desperation.
In this foreword to this book Jimmy Santiago echoes the same feeling when he proclaims, "So while all else fails, Literature steps forward to hail the new day with voices claiming they live, that they want to life, that they want redemption and a chance to make something of themselves." As if following this advice the writers tell their young readers not to let their fears; whether they are of their own making or the making of others lead them into living lives of despair and failure. But to face them with courage and intelligence.
B.M. Batchelor captures this best when he writes, "Becoming a real boy, or better yet, a real man, is a journey, but one that you can easily conquer with just the right attention to detail and some long-life batteries made of electric compassion and strong currents of persistence."
In Chris Cabrera's well thought out essay, a `Letter to a Young Men,' he teaches his young self the hard-knocks of life and how to avoid them. He offers these nuggets, "Get used to pain; there is no way to avoid it so stop trying...Confront adversity to the best of your ability...Try not to be indecisive; discern, decide and defend...Pick up the bible and read it...Shut up and listen." If this advice goes unheeded, the young self will duly find its life falling apart.
One cannot help but admire the effort of Elizer Darris. He takes the most risk by writing to an unborn self. This is no surprise to those who know him because he believes in 100% success in any thing that he does. He looks nostalgically to an `unborn' self, full of hope, anticipating a great `born' life only to be met with hate and bitterness. The lessons that Darris, sends back to the beginning of life are Nia (purpose) and Imani (Faith)..."And you will ratify us."
They talk of incarceration, sadness, loss of family, the cost of their mistakes and how important it is to reconnect with family. To make amends, J. Davis offers this advice to his beloved children, "Docendo Discimus," (We learn by teaching). One hopes they take it to heart. Han Souvannarath in his poem, "Where I am From," writes about coming from `poppy fields,' `cluster bombs,' `agent orange and napalm,' in his native Laos Then as if he'd been flipped by a cosmic spatula teaches us that he succeeded because he's from,"...the study hard and success will follow...respect your elders and mind your own business," school of thought.
LaVon Johnson chooses to talk to those young people incarcerated for life. He takes them through the horrors of their crimes, reminds them of their consequences and at the end offers them a lifeline, "Educate yourself with knowledge of self. Finish school. Get a G.E.D. or high school diploma. Maybe an example of that road to success. He echoes the same message of redemption and second chances in his poem, `A Promise of Justice A Sestina.'
The artwork fits the script perfectly. In Chris Cabrera's `Waiting for God,' we see a troubled child waiting for God or a future no one knows what it will bring. In `Untitled,' he creates a serene scene, which is fraught with danger (lions). One can only hope that they are circus lions! In `Tranquil,' he offers us hope, after the lessons of life have been learned. In the cover piece, Kenneth Starlin illustrates the many challenges and obstacles that many young people face in life, but also tells them that with education, hope and hard work they can succeed.
These men offer these writings as a sacrament for all the wrongs they have done and as road map for the things to avoid when a young person wants to escape the pitfalls of failure or avoid prison as a destination. In this regard, all their efforts succeed immensely. I recommend that everyone try to buy this book and share it with your children, family and friends.
First, full disclosure I know Deborah Appleman and John Schmit, who worked with the writers of this book. But I'm commenting because my encounters with the poetry and prose of these writers, who composed these pieces "inside" the prison and have now (fortunately for us) gotten them "out," have been so powerful--initially on Deborah's blog, then in a visit Deborah and John made to my class on creative nonfiction, and finally in this book.
I concur completely in Kennedy Gisege's sense of the impact of the imaginative letters, poems, and artwork in this book (see Krista Herbstrith's review). As someone who regularly assigns student-writers the sestina, a form that is simultaneously rigorous and expansive, I admire its several expressive incarnations here. Whether in verse or prose, the letters--to past selves, to unborn children, to the children and siblings outside--are movingly elegiac in desperate conditions the writers nonetheless move through loss toward hope, even when that hope resides only in the writer's ability to articulate the loss. In his startling "Letter to My Son," for instance, Ross Shepherd gives new depth and meaning to the refrain "I gave it all away."
Though I sometimes wondered at the editorial choice not to emend missing possessives, etc., in pieces that have already been transcribed, I do understand the desire to present these writers' works without "correction" There is enough of that in prison. The writing in "From the Inside Out," its emotional force, and the vivid world each writer evokes are completely authentic.
Considering that many of these men have been inside for so long, there is, at least for me, surprisingly vivid detail about the outside in many of these pieces. On second thought, perhaps I should not have been surprised, because imagination and memory are so vital to these writers. In "Running Red Lights" Ezekiel Caligiuri captures the complexity of vision on a wild night ride
Someone's fighting
with a homeless man
at a booth in the White Castle,
whose madness ruined his only cup of coffee.
It sits alone, untouched
strong and black.
For a moment we're not sure whose madness ruined whose cup of coffee. The madness and isolation of life are undeniable here; for me the scene simultaneously evokes the expressionist painting of George Grosz and the austere alienation of Edward Hopper.
Every time I pick this book up and read a selection I find myself in the grip of powerful writers. Prison undoubtedly shapes but neither defines nor constrains their idiosyncratic, thoroughly artistic visions.
I just read "From the Inside Out Letters to Young Men and Other Writings" in one sitting. Why one sitting? Because this is not the type of text that you can pick up, put down, pick up; the emotion, honesty and rawness of it rather grips you and takes you on an incredibly emotional and deeply profound journey.
Like many, the prison system had always been something utterly Other to me. Inmates were "there," and I, comfortably, was "here." Their lives, feelings, thoughts and words necessarily could not infiltrate my own peaceful world. But "From the Inside Out" changed that, and for that I am so grateful.
In the wonderful forward by Jimmy Santiago Baca, he explains that the writers included in this anthology are "given no future, they craft their own out of deep felt words...that redefine their souls." But the redefining of their souls is not all that their words do; rather, there is the writing of the words, and then there is the reading of them. By reading what these individuals have written, we open up our own souls to accepting, to recognizing. At least, "I recognize you," even though I will likely never meet you.
There is something deeply humanizing about this book.
The letters and poems contained, within the book, allows individuals who have been incarcerated to reflect on their lives and the lives of those they love. I share passages from the book with people in prison.
Enjoyed the letters. Plus I work at Stillwater DOC and know the writters of the letters. What is in there heart isn't what they wear on there selve.
I had the privilege of hearing at a NcTE convention the professor who facilitated these inmates in their writings. How powerful!
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