{"id":372,"date":"2023-01-25T11:35:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-25T19:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/bringing-literary-freedom-to-those-behind-bars-the-usc-pep-readers-circle\/"},"modified":"2023-12-15T08:03:05","modified_gmt":"2023-12-15T16:03:05","slug":"program-nurtures-imprisoned-writers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/program-nurtures-imprisoned-writers\/","title":{"rendered":"Bringing literary freedom to those behind bars: The USC PEP Readers\u2019 Circle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                          \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3807-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3807-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Bringing literary freedom to those behind bars: The USC PEP Readers\u2019 Circle\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Volunteers with The USC PEP Readers\u2019 Circle review writing submitted by a person in custody. The group\u2019s feedback will be sent back to the writer. (Photo: Courtesy of Keziah Poole.)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=social-impact\">Social Impact<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>Bringing literary freedom to those behind bars: The USC PEP Readers\u2019 Circle<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Student and faculty volunteers provide typing, copyediting and proofreading services to people in custody through a program founded by a USC Dornsife alumna.\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Margaret Crable<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">January 25, 2023<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 1.058837-1.68841575 2.518315-1.68841575 4.0350275 0 1.5167124.60096154 2.9475732 1.68841575 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xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m8.14285714 9.42857143c-.17142857 0-.34285714 0-.51428571.08571428l7.28571427 6.34285719c.3428572.2571428.6857143.2571428.9428572 0l7.2857142-6.34285719c-.0857142-.08571428-.2571428-.08571428-.4285714-.08571428zm-1.28571428 1.11428567v.1714286 8.5714286c0 .6857143.6 1.2857143 1.28571428 1.2857143h14.57142856c.6857143 0 1.2857143-.6 1.2857143-1.2857143v-8.5714286c0-.0857143 0-.0857143 0-.1714286l-7.2 6.3428572c-.7714286.6857143-1.8857143.6857143-2.6571429 0z\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" transform=\"translate(-6 -9)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Email<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                  <\/span>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n \n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>In brief:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Literature written in prison has a robust history \u2014 some of the most influential pieces of writing, such as Martin Luther King Jr\u2019s <em>Letter from Birmingham Jail<\/em>, were penned behind bars.<\/li>\n<li>USC PEP Readers\u2019 Circle, founded by USC Dornsife alumna Keziah Poole \u201921, gives incarcerated people access to typing, editing and proofreading service they wouldn\u2019t normally receive.<\/li>\n<li>Trojan students and faculty help with hundreds of submissions from prisoners, including poetry, personal essays and sci-fi novels.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Literature written in prison has a surprisingly robust history. Martin Luther King Jr.\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/billofrightsinstitute.org\/primary-sources\/letter-from-birmingham-jail\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i>Letter from Birmingham Jail<\/i><\/a>\u00a0<i><\/i>might be the first work that springs to mind, but did you know that John Bunyan began his Christian classic\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bl.uk\/collection-items\/the-pilgrims-progress-by-john-bunyan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i>The Pilgrim\u2019s Progress<\/i><\/a>\u00a0while serving time in a county prison three centuries earlier?<\/p>\n<p>French writer\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Jean-Genet\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jean Genet<\/a>\u00a0handwrote his first novel while imprisoned near Paris in the 1940s, and more recently, Nico Walker typed up his acclaimed debut book,\u00a0<i>Cherry<\/i>, on a prison typewriter in Kentucky.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 315px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/migration-uploads\/Readers_Circle_InStoryA-3807.jpg\" alt=\"A photo of Keziah Poole waearing a PEP sweatshirt\" width=\"315\" height=\"490\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Readers&#8217; Circle founder Keziah Poole \u201921. (Photo: Courtesy of Keziah Poole.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Writing behind bars is an uphill battle, however. Many residents don\u2019t have access to computers, internet access is severely rationed and there\u2019s little chance of reaching an editor while serving out a sentence.<\/p>\n<p>A new initiative started by USC Dornsife Letters, Arts and Sciences alumna Keziah Poole \u201921 is helping to fill this gap. The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/pep\/readers-circle\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">USC PEP Readers\u2019 Circle<\/a>, hosted by the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/pep\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">USC Dornsife Prison Education Project (PEP<\/a>), matches prisoners and those recently released from prison with volunteer USC faculty members and students, who provide assistance with writing projects. Help ranges from typing up handwritten work to copyediting to providing feedback on manuscripts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have a lot of participants saying, \u2018My family is proud of me for the first time, now that I\u2019m able to produce this writing,\u2019\u201d says Poole. \u201cWe\u2019ve also had people who have been published as a result of our assistance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Poole is currently an American Council of Learned Societies Leading Edge Fellow at the Petey Greene Program in Washington, D.C., where she helps with their College Bridge program in the D.C. jail while continuing her work with The Readers\u2019 Circle.<\/p>\n<h4>Writing help for those behind bars<\/h4>\n<p>The Readers\u2019 Circle sprang from Poole\u2019s time teaching classes through USC PEP, while completing her PhD in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/colt\/\">comparative literature<\/a>\u00a0at USC Dornsife. PEP arranges for USC faculty to teach classes inside prisons, with undergraduate students providing classroom assistance.<\/p>\n<p>In the spring of 2021, Poole taught a creative writing class\u00a0at Amity House in Los Angeles, which helps formerly incarcerated men navigate reentry into society following their release from prison, and she spent the summer teaching at the Halawa Correctional Facility in Hawaii. Many\u00a0of her students were eager to continue receiving help with their writing after her classes had wrapped up.<\/p>\n<p>Poole discussed her dilemma with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/profile\/nicholas-de-dominic\/\">Nik De Dominic<\/a>,\u00a0associate professor (teaching) of writing, and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/profile\/kate-levin\/\">Kate Levin<\/a>, assistant professor (teaching) of writing,\u00a0both\u00a0co-directors of USC PEP.\u00a0With their help, Poole launched The Readers\u2019 Circle in February 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Prisoners mail in their writing, along with requests for services, to The Readers\u2019 Circle office. Student workers scan and anonymize submissions, then Poole sends out a call to volunteers to see who might be interested in lending a hand. Requested tasks include typing up handwritten writing, proofreading, copyediting and general feedback. The completed documents are then printed and returned.<\/p>\n<p>So far, submissions have ranged widely, from poetry to sci-fi novels to personal essays. One group of volunteers recently hosted a live read of a submission, gathering collective feedback.<\/p>\n<p>Abhiraj Giritharan, a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/hist\/undergraduate-studies\/department-majors\/law-history-and-culture-ba\/\">law, history, and culture major<\/a>, is the student director overseeing submissions to the program. He first met Poole when he was a teaching assistant for one of her classes, then stuck around to help her launch The Readers\u2019 Circle.<\/p>\n<p>The experience has aligned well with his career goals, he says, as he\u2019s hoping to work with criminal defendants as a lawyer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut, working at The Readers\u2019 Circle is also invaluable to my role as a citizen,\u201d adds Giritharan. \u201cPeople in America are generally unaware of the reality of incarceration. The\u00a0Readers\u2019 Circle\u00a0gives our volunteers direct access to the perspectives of incarcerated people via the creative works they make in the complex conditions of a prison cell.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This unique experience is available to other undergraduates, as well. PEP partners with <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/the-writing-program\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">USC Dornsife\u2019s Writing Program<\/a>\u00a0in a community engagement course, where participation in The Readers\u2019 Circle is one of the class requirements.<\/p>\n<h4>Awareness of The Reader\u2019s Circle goes national<\/h4>\n<p>The program has grown steadily since its launch, especially after PEP hosted a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1OqMQD2mkBvBEmS8LazFV-a1a8XMqcVyv\/view\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">writing competition<\/a>\u00a0for incarcerated individuals in 2022 that brought in over 600 submissions. Each of those entrants received a flier advertising The Readers\u2019 Circle services, which spread the word to people in custody across the United States.<\/p>\n<p>The Readers\u2019 Circle leaders are now working on adding a Spanish-language component to the program to help the many incarcerated individuals for whom Spanish is their primary language.<\/p>\n<p>For prisoners who are in solitary confinement, under sanctions or in remote areas without programming, mail correspondence with The Readers\u2019 Circle is their only lifeline to the outside world. For others, it\u2019s helping them advocate for prison reform.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany of the pieces I\u2019ve edited aim to share what being incarcerated is like in hopes of changing the system, whether that\u2019s through sharing nonfiction stories or sending letters and propositions to those in power. By offering feedback, we can help polish writing before it reaches a larger audience,\u201d says The Readers\u2019 Circle volunteer Rachel Robson, who graduated in 2022 from USC Dornsife with a bachelor\u2019s degree in English and is now pursuing a Master of Arts in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/engl\/literary-editing-and-publishing\/\">literary editing and publishing<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps most important, The Readers\u2019 Circle has helped make these writers feel more human, an essential element for any successful rehabilitation program.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust knowing that there [are] organizations, universities and politicians willing to invest in me, then for sure I\u2019m [going to] invest in myself. It\u2019s boosting my\u00a0confidence to pursue my goals, dreams and freedom,\u201d wrote one participant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Student and faculty volunteers provide typing, copyediting and proofreading services to people in custody through a program founded by a USC Dornsife alumna.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":375,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[51,24],"tags":[63,75,100],"class_list":["post-372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-social-impact","tag-community-engagement","tag-humanities","tag-writing"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Bringing literary freedom to those behind bars: The USC PEP Readers\u2019 Circle<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/program-nurtures-imprisoned-writers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bringing literary freedom to those behind bars: The USC PEP Readers\u2019 Circle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Student and faculty volunteers provide typing, copyediting and proofreading services to people in custody through a program founded by a USC Dornsife alumna.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/program-nurtures-imprisoned-writers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"USC Dornsife News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" 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