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Words without walls : writers on addiction, violence, and incarceration

2015

Format:	Book
Title:	Words without walls : writers on addiction, violence, and incarceration / edited by Sheryl St. Germain and Sarah Shotland.
Publisher, Date:	San Antonio, Texas : Trinity University Press, [2015]
Description:	xvii, 265 pages ; 23 cm
Summary:	"Writing programs in prisons and rehabilitation centers have proven time and again to be transformative and empowering for people in need. Halfway houses, hospitals, and shelters are all fertile ground for healing through the imagination and can often mean the difference for inmates and patients between just simply surviving and truly thriving. It is in these settings that teachers and their students need reading that nourishes the soul and challenges the spirit. Words without Walls is a collection of more than seventy-five poems, essays, stories, and scripts by contemporary writers that provide models for successful writing, offering voices and styles that will inspire students in alternative spaces on their own creative exploration. Created by the founders of the award-winning program of the same name based at Chatham University, the anthology strives to challenge readers to reach beyond their own circumstances and begin to write from the heart. Each selection expresses immediacy-writing that captures the imagination and conveys intimacy on the page-revealing the power of words to cut to the quick and unfold the truth. Many of the pieces are brief, allowing for reading and discussion in the classroom, and provide a wide range of content and genre, touching on themes common to communities in need: addiction and alcoholism, family, love and sex, pain and hope, prison, recovery, and violence. These inspirational pieces act as models for beginning writers and offer a vehicle to examine their own painful experiences. Words without Walls demonstrates the power of language to connect people; to reflect on the past and reimagine the future; to confront complicated truths; and to gain solace from pain and regret"-- Provided by publisher. ""An anthology of poems, essays, stories, and scripts by contemporary writers that provides a wide range of content and genre, touching on themes common to communities in need: addiction and alcoholism, family, love and sex, pain and hope, prison, recovery, and violence"--Provided by publisher"-- Provided by publisher.
Subjects:	American literature -- 21st century.
Other Author:	St. Germain, Sheryl, editor. Shotland, Sarah, 1982- editor.
Notes:	Includes bibliographical references (pages 258-265).
Contents:	Nonfiction: -- Coming into language / Jimmy Santiago Baca -- Thirty minutes / R. Dwayne Betts -- Fight / Greg Bottoms -- Instructions on the use of alcohol / James Brown -- When my father was beating me / Toi Derricotte -- Same again / Nick Flynn -- Introduction to beyond desert walls ; Desert's child / Ken Lamberton -- Turtle suit / Terra Lynn -- from How to stop time / Ann Marlowe -- Under the influence / Scott Russell Sanders -- Everything is white / MerSiha Tuzlic -- from Men we reaped / Jesmyn Ward -- Poetry: -- 23 / John Amen -- Bed Sheets ; Schubert's unfinished symphony / Jen Ashburn -- Ghazal ; Red onion state prison / R. Dwayne Betts -- Ode to the man who grabbed my arm in the bar ; Ode to the man who leaned out the truck to call me nigger / Roger Bonair-Agard -- The mother / Gwendolyn Brooks -- Jojo's ; The murderer / Christopher Davis -- Clitoris / Toi Derricotte -- The elephants ; How to go to dinner with a brother on drugs / Natalie Diaz -- Tiara / Mark Doty -- Allegheny Ford trucks / Stephon Hayes -- Ars poetica #789 / Terrance Hayes -- Sixth grade / Marie Howe -- Leadbelly in Angola prison / Tyehimba Jess -- Home girl talks girlhood / Allison Joseph -- The black eye ; Beating / Natalie Kenvin -- Another poem for me (after recovering from an O.D.) / Etheridge Knight -- Genealogy ; Good-bye / Joan Larkin -- I could never ; Untitled / Heather McNaugher -- Thanks / W. S. Merwin -- Kindness / Naomi Shihab Nye -- I go back to may 1937 ; The language of the brag / Sharon Olds -- If there's a God / Gregory Orr -- Dad's at the diner / Sara Ries -- For brothers everywhere ; Natasha in a mellow mood / Tim Seibles -- Addiction ; Eating ; Young night / Sheryl St. Germain -- Relapse suite / Christine Stroud -- The real warnings ; Are always too late / Rhett Iseman Trull -- Love after love / Derek Walcott -- The impossible / Bruce Weigl -- Untitled / Franz Wright -- Untitled / Gary young -- Fiction: River of names / Dorothy Allison. Anything for Johnny / Eric Boyd. The solutions to Brian's problem / Bonnie Jo Campbell. Popular mechanics / Raymond Carver. from Swimming sweet arrow / Maureen Gibbon. Chess over Royal Street, a love story / Jessica Kinnison. The boy / Joyce Carol Oates. from The thngs they carried / Tim O'Brien. from Drinking coffee elsewhere / ZZ Packer. from Black and blue / Anna Quindlen. from Push / Sapphire. from Junkette / Sarah Shotland. Witness / John Edgar Wideman. Disappearing / Monica Wood -- Drama: from Why we have a body / Claire Chafee. hunger blog / Eve Ensler. from August : Osage County / Tracy Letts. from How I learned to drive / Paula Vogel. from Two trains running / August Wilson -- Drama: -- from Why we have a body / Claire Chafee -- hunger blog / Eve Ensler -- from August : Osage County / Tracy Letts -- from How I learned to drive / Paula Vogel -- from Two trains running / August Wilson.
LCCN:	2015000718
ISBN:	9781595342553 1595342559 * 9781595342560
Other Number:	886505626
System Availability:	2
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# Local items:	2
# Local items in:	2
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Publishers Weekly Review

Sit down, turn off the phone, and prepare for a stunning, if difficult, read. The editors of this anthology run creative writing workshops for recovering addicts and prisoners, and they intend the book as a teaching tool. Not surprisingly, the entries explore the darkest places that humans inhabit, both physically and mentally. Structurally, the book is separated into four literary categories: nonfiction, poetry, fiction, and drama. Emotionally, it runs the gamut, from the hopelessness R. Dwayne Betts describes feeling, in his essay "Thirty Minutes," as he is escorted out of court to jail-"twelve million black voices crying out to a juvenile court judge for mercy"-to profound regret in Gwendolyn Brooks's poem "The Mother," a mother's message to her unborn children. Readers will recognize many contributors, especially in the Fiction section, which includes excerpts from the works of authors such as Joyce Carol Oates, Tim O'Brien, Anna Quindlen, and Sapphire. The nonfiction entries that begin the book will most capture readers' attention and haunt them in the days after reading. Reading this book is to read the most intimate, often horrifying, stories that humans can survive to tell, dragging "into the light what eats at [us]." (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Summary

Writing programs in prisons and rehabilitation centers have proven time and again to be transformative and empowering for people in need. Halfway houses, hospitals, and shelters are all fertile ground for healing through the imagination and can often mean the difference for inmates and patients between just simply surviving and truly thriving. It is in these settings that teachers and their students need reading that nourishes the soul and challenges the spirit.

Words without Walls is a collection of more than seventy-five poems, essays, stories, and scripts by contemporary writers that provide models for successful writing, offering voices and styles that will inspire students in alternative spaces on their own creative exploration. Created by the founders of the award-winning program of the same name based at Chatham University, the anthology strives to challenge readers to reach beyond their own circumstances and begin to write from the heart.

Each selection expresses immediacy--writing that captures the imagination and conveys intimacy on the page--revealing the power of words to cut to the quick and unfold the truth. Many of the pieces are brief, allowing for reading and discussion in the classroom, and provide a wide range of content and genre, touching on themes common to communities in need: addiction and alcoholism, family, love and sex, pain and hope, prison, recovery, and violence.

These inspirational pieces act as models for beginning writers and offer a vehicle to examine their own painful experiences. Words without Walls demonstrates the power of language to connect people; to reflect on the past and reimagine the future; to confront complicated truths; and to gain solace from pain and regret.

Words without Walls is a creative partnership between graduate students from Chatham University's MFA program in creative writing and a number of nontraditional classrooms, including the Allegheny County Jail, Sojourner House, a recovery center for women and their children, and other facilities. Students from Chatham teach creative writing courses to male and female inmates at the jail and elsewhere, organize readings of their work, facilitate community workshops after their release, and publish their work in an annual anthology.

Table of Contents

	Editors' Introduction	p. xi
	Nonfiction
	Coming into Language Jimmy Santiago Baca	p. 3
	Thirty Minutes R. Dwayne Betts	p. 11
	Fight Greg Bottoms	p. 16
	Instructions on the Use of Alcohol James Brown	p. 22
	When My Father Was Beating Me Toi Derricotte	p. 30
	Same Again Nick Flynn	p. 32
	Introduction to Beyond Desert Walls Ken Lamberton	p. 35
	Desert's Child	p. 41
	Turtle Suit Terra Lynn	p. 50
	from How to Stop Time Ann Marlowe	p. 53
	Under the Influence Scott Russell Sanders	p. 57
	Everything Is White MerSiha Tuzlic	p. 71
	from Men We Reaped Jesmyn Ward	p. 81
	Poetry
	23 John Amen	p. 89
	Bed Sheets Jen Ashburn	p. 90
	Schubert's Unfinished Symphony	p. 91
	Ghazal R. Dwayne Betts	p. 92
	Red Onion State Prison	p. 93
	Ode to the Man Who Grabbed My Arm in the Bar Roger Bonair-Agard	p. 94
	Ode to the Man Who Leaned the Truck to Call Me Nigger	p. 96
	The Mother Gwendolyn Brooks	p. 98
	Jojo's Christopher Davis	p. 100
	The Murderer	p. 101
	Clitoris Toi Derricotte	p. 102
	The Elephants Natalie Diaz	p. 103
	How to Go to Dinner with a Brother on Drugs	p. 105
	Tiara Mark Doty	p. 110
	Allegheny Food Trucks Stephon Hayes	p. 112
	Ars Poetica # 789 Terrance Hayes	p. 113
	Sixth Grade Marie Howe	p. 115
	leadbelly in angola prison Tyehimba Jess	p. 116
	Home Girl Talks Girlhood Allison Joseph	p. 117
	The Black Eye Natalie Kenvin	p. 119
	Beating	p. 120
	Another Poem for Me (after Recovering from an O.D.) Etheridge Knight	p. 121
	Genealogy Joan Larkin	p. 122
	Good-bye	p. 123
	I Could Never Heather McNaugher	p. 125
	Untitled	p. 127
	Thanks W.S. Merwin	p. 128
	Kindness Naomi Shihab Nye	p. 130
	I Go Back to May 1937 Sharon Olds	p. 132
	The Language of the Brag	p. 133
	If There's a God... Gregory Orr	p. 135
	Dad's at the Diner Sara Ries	p. 136
	For Brothers Everywhere Tim Seibles	p. 138
	Natasha in a Mellow Mood	p. 140
	Addiction Sheryl St. Germain	p. 142
	Eating	p. 144
	Young Night	p. 145
	Relapse Suite Christine Stroud	p. 148
	The Real Warnings Are Always Too Late Rhett Iseman Trull	p. 152
	Love after Love Derek Walcott	p. 153
	The Impossible Bruce Weigl	p. 154
	Untitled Franz Wright	p. 155
	Untitled Gary Young	p. 156
	Fiction
	River of Names Dorothy Allison	p. 159
	Anything for Johnny Eric Boyd	p. 168
	The Solutions to Brian's Problem Bonnie Jo Campbell	p. 172
	Popular Mechanics Raymond Carver	p. 175
	from Swimming Sweet Arrow Maureen Gibbon	p. 177
	Chess Over Royal Street, a love story Jessica Kinnison	p. 179
	The Boy Joyce Carol Oates	p. 181
	from The Things They Carried Tim O'Brien	p. 183
	from Drinking Coffee Elsewhere ZZ Packer	p. 189
	from Black and Blue Anna Quindlen	p. 195
	from Push Sapphire	p. 198
	from Junkette Sarah Shotland	p. 201
	Witness John Edgar Wideman	p. 205
	Disappearing Monica Wood	p. 206
	Drama
	from Why We Have a Body Claire Chafee	p. 213
	hunger blog Eve Ensler	p. 218
	from August: Osage County Tracy Letts	p. 221
	from How I Learned to Drive Paula Vogel	p. 231
	from Two Trains Running August Wilson	p. 236
	Contents by Theme	p. 239
	Bibliography and Recommended Sources	p. 243
	Contributors' Notes	p. 251
	Acknowledgments and Credits	p. 259

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