During the spring of 2003, I made three trips to the New Jersey State Prison to observe and participate in the prison literacy program run by the grassroots humanities group “People and Stories.” In the course of these visits, I bore witness to the power of short stories in bringing forth the emotions and personal responses of what is likely New Jersey’s most emotionally repressed population. Gradually, the stereotypes and fears I held about prisoners began to dissolve as the time spent with these men revealed their deep humanity.
A Journal of Community-Engaged Writing and Rhetoric