The VOX Press Artists Series will present “Poetry and Prison: An Evening with Judith Tannenbaum” at the Powerhouse Arts Center in Oxford tonight.
Judith Tannenbaum will be reading poems from her book “Disguised as a Poem,” an acclaimed memoir about her time spent teaching creative writing in a maximum-security prison, San Quentin, in the 1980s.
“Her insights in the book are really amazing about how these creative writing programs actually, in some cases, help prisoners not return to prison because they’re so inspired to write and live a creative life,” said Louis Bourgeois, executive director of VOX Press.
Tannenbaum plans to recount the work she did as a part of the program and the people she encountered. She hopes to relay to the community the importance of these types of programs.
“Making art or music or writing can be such an important way to keep in touch with what is most deeply alive and human in a person,” Tannenbaum said. “Everybody needs that.”
VOX Press shares this sentiment, but also hopes to shed light on a broader issue within the prison system in the state of Mississippi.
In January, VOX Press began offering its own four-month creative writing class to prisoners in the Mississippi State Penitentiary through its Mississippi Prison Writes Initiative.
“This is a new thing for Mississippi,” co-founder Bourgeois said. “Most places in the country have these types of programs in their prison system, but Mississippi did not.”
VOX Press, originally founded as a literary journal, has since expanded to include the VOX Press Artists Series and VOX’s Educational Outreach Program.
“Our goal is to make people aware of the program and to also be aware that Mississippi houses an above-average number of prisoners,”Bourgeois said. “A lot of this, we argue, is due to impoverishment and lack of social programs, so we want to bring awareness to this ongoing problem that is not going away.”
Before Tannenbaum speaks, VOX will play recordings of songs from prisoners working in the 1930s and 1940s. The band Mayflower of Death will also be introduced to perform acoustic prison-related songs. Attendees will have an opportunity to ask Tannenbaum questions.
“We love audience participation, so we want the public to engage with Judith concerning this program and similar programs,” Bourgeois said.
Tannenbaum said she enjoys having the opportunity to share her experiences with others. She travels often to talk about the program.
“My experience was a very profound one for me and I learned a lot from it, both as a teacher and a person,” Tannenbaum said.
There is no charge to attend the presentation. Food and drink will be available for a small donation that will go toward the cost of hosting the event. Separate donations can be made to aid the Mississippi Prison Writes Initiative. Everyone in the community is encouraged to attend.
“We’re all people, and people in prison are people, too, and have the same range of qualities that all human beings do,” Tannenbaum said. “None of us are only the worst thing we’ve done or the best thing we’ve done.”
Doors open at 6 p.m., and the event will begin at 7 p.m.
