During our workshop at MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility, last month, the young writers scribbled down either a white thing or a black thing on a card. From these seeds, sentences were constructed and collected, and then delivered to the PonyXpress writers across Oregon. The prompts circulated in our workshops and line by line they were organized like a Rubik’s cube in the writers’ nimble fingers. As we shared the results in our group, patterns would arise. At Snake River Correctional Institution (minimum) five of twelve writers focused on the line: “I wrote a letter to my brother.” Some writers found a poem by combining phrases, and some writers used one word as a starting point to take their writing into a deeper exploration. In all cases, Danny and I recognized the willing enthusiasm that everyone brought to this collaboration with the MacLaren folks. They recognized an opportunity in the exchange.
From Snake River Correctional Institution (medium) one man wrote:
Look Young Brothers at MacLaren, you’ll get through this. I’ve been where you are before, literally. I’ve already been locked up for over 15 years of this life, but by the grace of God I found hope and I’ve got 5 years clean and sober, just as long without violence too. Things will get better, and there is hope for you too, so I’ll remind you home is where you feel love. It’s not a place, so search for love keep searching and keep your head up! You’ll get through this, just keep doing the next right thing, as much as you can. Much love and respect to the Young Bro’s at MacLaren.
Oregon State Penitentiary editor Stressla Lynn Johnson wrote An Invitation:
I wrote a letter to my brother,
In black ink, a few words to make him think,
My thoughts soared high above the cloud,
Whispering words falling to the ground ...
Brother from Snake River Correctional Institution:
I wrote a letter to my brother in black ink.
I wrote the words that were in my heart. The words
of forgiveness for the things that he’d done.
Also from Snake River, David Jackson’s Black Ink:
I wrote a letter to my brother in Black Ink —
Just think, I never knew I had a brother until last week
— Black Ink —
To My Brother by Travis Carroll at Snake River:
You’ve transcended to a level much higher than Raven flies.
When I think of you today, a tear descends from the corner of my eye.
From Coffee Creek Correctional Institution, Sequoiah Vannorsdall-Resendez’s I Write to You:
I write to you, brother, so you can hear me once again. Never forget, never let go. The gray of the pencil is too easily missed.
And Oregon State Penitentiary editor Dustin Smith focused his pen with Snow Blind:
It’s the beauty of the light
From a distant star, refracting
In multitudes and
Blinding in its brilliance.
Our office overflows with the creative work submitted in service to our youth outreach project. PonyXpress writers are generating letters and notes of encouragement for young people living in institutions. Better than any of us, these writers embody the experience of feeling far from home, from safety, from themselves. They also understand that a handwritten note held in a pocket helps bring a loved one close, and even a note from a stranger provides the reassurance: Someone cares that I am in the world. We return to MacLaren this week with a collection of this writing, along with personalized notes addressed to participants.
During the coming months, we adjust the aperture bringing the theme “Near and Far” in and out of focus. As we travel around the state to visit our prisons, we will continue to record what we see. When we stop along the road, Danny tends to capture sweeping views, the big Oregon landscape in front of us, while I like to study the ground at our feet. At 65 miles an hour, we scan the sky together for birds of prey and look for the mountain goats clambering up the hills just outside of La Grande — every sighting a good omen. | TDS
SEEDS FROM THE MACLAREN WORKSHOP FOR OUR PROMPTED WRITINGS
I SAW THE TEACHER WRITE ON THE WHITE BOARD.
SNOW OUTSIDE IS COLD.
CLOUDS CHANGE COLOR SOMETIMES THEY’RE GREY BUT THEY GO BACK TO WHITE.
THE SUN SHINING OFF THE SNOW BLINDS.
THE STAY-PUFF MARSHMALLOW MAN APPEARED OUT OF NOWHERE.
PAPER IS WHITE.
THE BLACK BAT WAS IN THE CAVE.
I WROTE A LETTER TO MY BROTHER IN BLACK INK.
THE BLACK HATS ARE USED TO WEAR ON YOUR HEAD TO COVER FROM THE SUN.
THE PANTHER GROWS IN THE JUNGLE AND HUNTS ANIMALS.
THE STAFF ARE GOING AROUND CAMPUS AND TAKING ALL THE BLACK SHIRTS AND BLACK SWEATERS.
SHINY BLACK SHOES FOR THE WEDDING.
THE RAVEN FLIES VERY HIGH.