Inciting Poetry at Ironwood State Prison

​Unitarian Universalists in the Greater Community
Barbara Brooks, President, Summit Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
Last week, I spent six days, April 11 through April 16, 2016, in ongoing training and as a facilitator, together with a partner, of a circle group of 18 inmates at Ironwood State Prison in Blythe, California, under the auspices of the Victim Offender Education Group (VOEG) Restorative Justice Project. For our first group meeting in March 2016, there had been no scheduled, planned, written homework assignment. During my check in with the group at that first meeting, I read a poem that I had written. The men were intrigued, interested and spontaneously asked, “Can anyone write something like that?” I answered, yes, of course. 

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At their request, writing a personal poem became their voluntary homework, no pressure. I was not sure what to expect of the men, most of whom are “lifers” for violent crimes, in terms of poetry, or even any reaction to this voluntary assignment. As we arrived for our April 2016 meeting, eleven men gave me their poems, a wonderful response. To choose the poem to be read out loud, all poems were turned upside down on a table. A poem was then selected by one of the men in our group. I read the following poem to the circle of men without disclosing the name of the author. ​

​POEM TO WISH
How I wish I could touch the green,
Breathe the fresh, escape the cold,
feel the sun, embrace what’s warm,
that which is love, feel its passion,
except its pain, grow in life & enjoy the change,
detest the loathsome act, understand the irony,
the test of time & the point in trying me,
the fight worth fighting, the reason for loss,
Destiny, Determination, cost,
the walk, the stroll, the run, the race,
uncontrol, to control my pace.
How I wish you could see my face,
How I wish I could see your face,
my wish to wish, open the cage. 

​The men asked if everyone in our group could have a copy of all the poems, current and future. So, I will begin a small “pocket poetry” effort, in the prison, to share all our current and future poems with everyone in the group. I anticipate that we might receive more poems during upcoming meetings when the men feel increasingly safe sharing their emotions and thoughts. The VOEG Insight Prison Project will continue at Ironwood and other State Prisons for a total of 18 months. 

The men’s current official homework assignment is to write a detailed, in depth, crime impact statement. The crime impact statement will be read out loud at the circle, by the author. Then it will be processed with dialogue and questions from the group, under the guidance of my partner and myself as facilitators. Toward the end of the 18 months, our group of men will meet with victims of similar crimes, and their families, for continued, life changing dialogue. Our guiding words are, “Trust the Process, (Be the Process), for Bringing Change”.

I became interested in this project when Rev. Andrea Travers approached me. Rev. Andrea is a Summit Member and trainer of facilitators for the VOEG/IPP project. Each volunteer is screened and evaluated. Once accepted, the project requires travel to Blythe, CA (where Ironwood Prison is located), or to the San Quentin area, or other prisons. We stay at a local hotel and go into the prison for the day. There is information and training for us at every step. We have a detailed curriculum for each facilitation day and we teach the items in the plan for that day, with creative leeway. Andrea is also starting a project locally at Donovan State Prison. If you are interested in getting involved or making a donation to help with expenses visit www.insightprisonproject.org.