Crossing the Yard: Thirty Years as a Prison VolunteerUniversity of Arizona Press, 18 oct. 2007 - 238 pagini Ever since he was asked to critique the poetry of a convicted murderer, he has lived in two worlds. Richard Shelton was a young English professor in 1970 when a convict named Charles SchmidÑa serial killer dubbed the ÒPied Piper of TucsonÓ in national magazinesÑshared his brooding verse. But for Shelton, the novelty of meeting a death-row monster became a thirty-year commitment to helping prisoners express themselves. Shelton began organizing creative writing workshops behind bars, and in this gritty memoir he offers up a chronicle of reaching out to forgotten men and womenÑand of creativity blossoming in a repressive environment. He tells of published students such as Paul Ashley, Greg Forker, Ken Lamberton, and Jimmy Santiago Baca who have made names for themselves through their writing instead of their crimes. Shelton also recounts the bittersweet triumph of seeing work published by men who later met with agonizing deaths, and the despair of seeing the creative strides of inmates broken by politically motivated transfers to private prisons. And his memoir bristles with hard-edged experiences, ranging from inside knowledge of prison breaks to a workshop conducted while a riot raged outside a barricaded door. Reflecting on his decision to tutor Schmid, Shelton sees that the choice Òhas led me through bloody tragedies and terrible disappointments to a better understanding of what it means to be human.Ó Crossing the Yard is a rare story of professional fulfillmentÑand a testament to the transformative power of writing. |
Alte ediții - Afișează-le pe toate
Termeni și expresii frecvente
Arizona Commission Arizona Correctional Arizona State Prison Aryan Brotherhood asked become began Billy called Cardwell Charles Green Charles Schmid Cimarron classroom creative writing workshop crime death row Department of Corrections deputy warden door drugs facility felt Florence prison friends gang Greg guards happened head chaplain incarcerated inmates Jimmy Santiago Baca Karen Katharine Ken Lamberton kind knew Lannan Foundation later letter live looked magazine Manzanita morning murder never night parole Paul Ashley Phoenix Pinal County poems poetry prison administration prison system private prison probably problem published realized remember Richard Shelton Rincon riot Safford Santa Rita Santa Rita workshop seemed sentence sex offender talked tell thing thought tion told Tom Cobb Tony Tony Serra took trying Tucson complex University of Arizona violent volunteers W. S. Merwin Walking Rain Review wall wanted Warden Cardwell week young