The day before going into a prison for the first time, I was anxious that I would somehow break the dress code and not be allowed in, despite reading through the dress code at least five times. I really wanted…
Appalachian Prison Book Project
In Prison, It’s Impossible to Practice Social Distancing
As a prison legal aid, Steven has assisted people for years with their legal cases by reading trial transcripts, diagnosing errors, and preparing the appropriate pleading. He wrote an essay about his experience in prison toward the beginning of the…
“People Will Die:” What It’s Like to Be in Prison During the Coronavirus Pandemic
Prisons aren’t prepared for pandemics like COVID-19. For Steven, incarcerated in Pennsylvania, such an inadequate response means he is helping other incarcerated men write compassionate release papers. The other thing to know about Steven is this: Early in the pandemic,…
Religion Behind Bars: Building Community During COVID-19
In this excerpt from his journal, Magical Charlie wrote about his experience with COVID-19 restrictions in a Pennsylvania prison: March 22, 2020 After they nixed our outside volunteers, our Sunday night Prayer & Share group was kaput. On the 19th…
APBP Suspending Volunteer Operations During Coronavirus Pandemic
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the Appalachian Prison Book Project is temporarily closing its doors. Closed Until Further Notice APBP’s office is located in the Aull Center, which is owned and managed by the Morgantown Public Library. When they…
Books vs. Bans: When Prisons Discourage Reading
On January 23, 2020, Dwayne Betts announced that his memoir A Question of Freedom, which chronicles Betts’s time as a young man in prison and how reading saved his life, was officially banned from Virginia state prisons. Last semester, I…
The First Day in a Prison Classroom
My first day as a teaching assistant for an Inside-Out class was the first day I walked inside a prison. I had no idea what to expect and did not know what questions to ask. When we arrived at the…
Lessons from a Prison Book Club Volunteer
The first rule of Book Club: You must talk about Book Club. Derivatively inverse of Fight Club’s mantra, I believe this philosophy best sums up one of the key aspects of serving as a volunteer at a prison. While many…
The Other 95%
For the past six weeks, APBP volunteers have been working to understand the terms and implications of a contract signed by the WV Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation (WVDCR) with the private telecom company Global Tel Link (GTL). Our concern…
Why Books Matter
I teach literature inside prisons. My students are serious, observant, and purposeful readers. They light up with books. When one looked at the cover of Dwayne Betts’ memoir A Question of Freedom, he said, "I can't wait to show the…