Critical storytelling from behind invisible bars : undergraduates and inmates write their way out / edited by Carmella J. Braniger [and three others].

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Braniger, Carmella J., editor.

Series:

Critical storytelling ; Volume 4.

Critical Storytelling ; Volume 4

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Women prisoners--Illinois--Decatur.

Women prisoners.

Prisoners' writings, American--Illinois--Decatur.

Prisoners' writings, American.

Physical Description:

1 online resource.

Place of Publication:

Leiden ; Boston : Brill Sense, [2020]

Summary:

Critical stories are narratives that recount the writer's experiences, situating those experiences in broader cultural contexts. In this volume of Critical Storytelling , marginalized, excluded, and oppressed peoples share insights from their liminality to help readers learn from their perspectives on living from behind invisible bars. Female inmates at Decatur's Correctional Center and the undergraduate Millikin University students who worked with them come together to give voice to their specific histories of living from behind invisibile bars and pose important questions to the reader about inciting change for the future. Specifically, the voices in this volume seek to expose, analyze, and challenge deeply-entrenched narratives and characterizations of incarcerated women, whose histories are often marked by sexual abuse, domestic violence, poverty, PTSD, a lack of education, housing insecurity, mental illness, and substance addiction. These silenced female inmate voices need to be heard and contextualized within the larger metanarrative of prison literature. Through telling critical stories, these writers attempt to: sustain recovery from trauma, make positive changes and informed decisions, create a real sense of empowerment, strengthen their capacity to exercise personal agency, and inspire audiences to create change far outside the reaches of physical and metaphorical bars.

Contents:

Preface

Notes on Contributors

Prologue

Alex V. Miller

1 A Prisoner's Melody

Sandra Brown, Jelissa Lovette and Alisha Walker

2 Barcode

Sandra Brown

3 Caged

Jelissa Lovette

4 The Forbidden & the Prohibited

Soren Belle

5 Truth or Dare

6 The People I Met When the Sky Went Dark

Bric Martin

7 The Great Wall of Insanity

J. M. Spence

8 State of Mind

9 The Call

10 Pivotal Times

Angie Oakes

11 A Daughter's Sorrow

12 Talking It out from the Inside

Cara Quiett

13 Mother-Less Child

14 Not Waving, Not Drowning

15 Isaac

Claire Prendergast

16 Prison

Angie Oaks

17 Love Find Me

18 Little Girl Lost

19 Everlasting Kiss

20 Backburner Bitch

Anonymous

21 Love Alive

Kala Keller

22 My Dragonfly

Laura Neering

23 Puzzle Pieces in My Eyes

Rebekah M. Icenesse

24 Piece of Me

25 Nothing New under the Sun

26 Living a Life with Invisible Bars

Kathlyn J. Housh

27 Where Would I Be

28 My Odyssey

29 What Makes Straight so Great?

Dwight G. Brown, Jr.

30 Nature's Sanctuary

31 Nature's Pride and Promise

32 Finding Stability in Motion

Megan Batty

33 Queen of Soul

Jelisa Lovette

34 Melodies & Recipes

35 Unanswered Questions

Paiten Hamilton

36 Gregory's Gift

37 Sentimental Syrup

38 Perfection: A History of Me & My Multi-Colored Elephants

Kathryn A. Coffey

39 Final Thoughts

40 Stopping the Cycle: My Journey with Generational Body Image

Kelly Cunningham

41 My Four Opportunities to Grow Up

Noah Villarreal

42 My Last Bow

Amanda Minetti

43 The Eulogy

44 Yoga Me Free

45 Metamorphosis

Epilogue

Carmella J. Braniger, Rebekah M. Icenesse, Kathryn A. Coffey and Alex V. Miller.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9789004441651

9004441654

Publisher Number:

10.1163/9789004441651 DOI