May 14

Deborah Appleman at Content with WORDS NO BARS CAN HOLD - POSTPONED

Thu, May 14, 2020 • 7:00pm - 8:30pm (1h 30m) • Con•tent Bookstore • 314 Division Street, Northfield
Thursday May 14 | 7:00PM - 8:30PM
Ever wondered about the ability of literature 'to empower inmates who are too often dismissively diminished by society'? Join Deborah Appleman as she discusses her new book Words No Bars Can Hold: Literacy Learning in Prison, in which she shares her experiences teaching creative writing to high-security prisoners.

'Reading it, we learn so much about the power of writing, about teaching, about what education makes possible, and about the urgent human capacity to define who we are.'
--Mike Rose, author of Back to School: Why Everyone Deserves a Second Chance at Education

'The result is an eloquent meditation on how the art of narrative defines what it is we mean by education itself.'
--Daniel Karpowitz, Director of National Programs, Bard Prison Initiative, author of College in Prison: Reading in an Age of Mass Incarceration

Words No Bars Can Hold provides a rare glimpse into literacy learning under the most dehumanizing conditions. Deborah Appleman chronicles her work teaching college-level classes at a high-security prison for men, most of whom are serving life sentences. Through narrative, poetry, memoir, and fiction, the students in Appleman's classes attempt to write themselves back into a society that has erased their lived histories.

The students' work, through which they probe and develop their identities as readers and writers, illuminates the transformative power of literacy. Appleman argues for the importance of educating the incarcerated, and explores ways to interrupt the increasingly common journey from urban schools to our nation's prisons. From the sobering endpoint of what scholars have called the 'school to prison pipeline,' she draws insight from the narratives and experiences of those who have travelled it.


Deborah Appleman lives in Minnesota and is the Hollis L. Caswell Professor of Educational Studies and director of the summer writing program at Carleton College. Since 2007, she has taught language, literature, and creative writing courses at a high-security prison for men in the upper Midwest.

 
 
Event Contact: Tonja Clay
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Event Summary

Deborah Appleman at Content with WORDS NO BARS CAN HOLD - POSTPONED
  • Intended For: Students, Faculty, Staff

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