It is my absolute pleasure to introduce to you some of the most dedicated writers working from within U.S. prisons today!
I couldn’t imagined when I started this blog that I would be profiled among them by PEN America’s Incarcerated Writers Bureau. According to pen.org, [The IWB] “is a digital resource that will make professional and creative opportunities more accessible to writers in U.S. prisons. The website features information for publishers, literary agents, and journalists seeking to work with incarcerated writers, a searchable roster of featured writers, and a database for publishers and media platforms to submit opportunities for writers working from prison.”
The IWB earlier this year invited me to speak over video on the importance of using person-centered language in media writing. The invitation followed the video presentation I delivered last year to forensic linguists at Aston University in Birmingham, England. I am grateful to Idaho Department of Correction officials for approving me to present to the Aston audience. But by denying the IWB’s request to leverage my personal and professional experience, the agency missed an amazing opportunity to positively impact national discourse surrounding public safety issues.
Click here to view videos by other prison writers involved with the IWB
View People Magazine’s online mention of the IWB and Patrick’s endeavors here.
I’m sorry to hear that you were denied this recognition, Patrick. Sometimes it just seems like cruelty for cruelty’s sake, but keep writing anyway. I love Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, and I marvel that we have made so little progress in civilization.
Keep on keeping on. Keep thinking and writing.