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| Sensational stories |
| By Sarah Etter, News Reporter |
| Published: 05/21/2007 |
Every inmate has a tale to tell, and when it comes to putting them on paper, the intense experiences that have led them to prison can make for some of the best stories ever written. Every year, the PEN American Center searches for these stories from incarcerated authors for its annual writing contest. Since 1971, the program has been considering thousands of submissions from offenders across the country for poetry, fiction, memoir and non-fiction contests. The three winners of each category receive a cash prize and have their work published on PEN's website. “We get a lot of writing about prison conditions and crime in America,” says PEN prison writing coordinator Liesel Tarquini. “We get a lot of memoirs about how they ended up where they are now. The inmates are writing very much out of their own experiences. One of the pieces was about an inmate finding out his last family member had died and he wasn’t able to attend the funeral. It’s really about the human experiences going on behind bars.” To help offenders enter submissions, PEN offers the Handbook for Writers in Prison free of charge to any inmate interested in honing their writing skills. Offenders also may participate in a mentoring program. Currently, 60 inmates have been paired with an experienced mentor who edits and reviews their work. “It’s basically like a writing workshop via mail,” Tarquini explains. “Our goal is to help them improve their writing but it also helps counter a lot of the despair and isolation that inmates experience. We believe that has a therapeutic effect on them, improving their situation and preparing them for release. We want to counter some of the destructive forces in the prison system. Many times, we find these relationships continue for years.” During her years of work at the PEN, Tarquini has noticed a few trends. Newcomers to prison often submit stories about their struggle with separation from loved ones, or they write about friendships they’ve made with other inmates. Some offenders choose to compose stories about their feelings after receiving a death sentence for crimes they deny committing. Those serving lengthy sentences or awaiting the death penalty tend to focus their literary efforts elsewhere. “The inmates who have been incarcerated for a long time usually put a little humor into their work,” Tarquini adds. “They get past the point of being overwhelmed by their sentences and they can kind of sit back and add that element to their experiences.” One winning 2006 selection called ‘Contraband’ by Patricia Prewitt satirically details the complications of contraband regulations: Over many years of incarceration, I have spent a small fortune (remember that fortunes are relative) on items that were legal, only to find that they have been declared illegal. I have bought scissors, mirrors, tweezers, toenail clippers, Vicks VapoRub, can openers, highlighters, bed comforters, sheets, extension cords, stingers, crockpots, art and craft supplies, crochet hooks, reading lamps, clocks, oatmeal and honey facial scrub, key rings, dental floss, and more, in good faith only to find out I was holding contraband and could get in big trouble. Having purchased items through the proper channels is no defense in prison. Most people think of prison contraband in terms of weapons or drugs—homemade knives, guns, and other harmful things. In our prison, contraband can be an extra pair of panties. We are allowed only seven. Guards frisk us in search of hard candy. A peppermint is contraband if found in a pocket. Click here to read her entire piece. Prewitt’s piece makes PEN stand out. The writing is engaging and thought provoking, and its descriptive language can make for an addictive read. Yet, Tarquini admits that it is not always easy to get the best out of each writer. “There are misconceptions that everyone in prison is illiterate, and it’s just not true. There are some very highly educated inmates. But one of the most humbling parts of my job is to go through the hundreds of letters we get every week, because of the regret and despair they write about and you look at their handwriting and they write at a kindergarten or second grade-level. That’s the most difficult part of the job,” she says. These challenges are also what keeps PEN staff motivated to encourage prisoners across the nation to keep writing. The deadline for the next competition is September 1, 2007. Click here for more information. |
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