April is National Poetry Month. We are honored to share this poem by Rayna Momen, current board member and long-time volunteer at APBP. COVID-19 I. I broke up with my clippers the day the virus became reason to sink into new…
Category: Miscellaneous
Easter Sunday
In 2021, B’s youngest brother was sentenced to 25 years in prison for murder and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. B wrote this short letter to the victim’s family in the hopes of articulating her desire…
Their Lives Matter: The People Dying of COVID-19 in West Virginia Prisons and Jails
It has been more than a year and a half since the first confirmed death of an incarcerated person in the custody of the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR) due to COVID-19. Most of us cannot imagine…
Read More Their Lives Matter: The People Dying of COVID-19 in West Virginia Prisons and Jails
The Power of a Dictionary
“I knew right there in prison that reading had changed forever the course of my life. As I see it today, the ability to read awoke inside me some long dormant craving to be mentally alive.” -- Malcolm X When…
Mail Call in the Prison System
Words diamonds on pages of gold A message from heaven as their story is told, “We love you, miss you, pray you’ll be free.” A treasure-filled envelope just for me. Please bring memories of joy I once knew Family, friends…
Why Donate to Prison Book Projects When Prisons Have Libraries?
“A book, too, can be a star, a living fire to lighten the darkness, leading out into the expanding universe” — Madeleine L’Engle Most prisons have libraries, so why has APBP mailed over 45,000 books across six Appalachian states: West…
Read More Why Donate to Prison Book Projects When Prisons Have Libraries?
Letter Matching 101: Searching the Bookshelves
At APBP, there are three main tasks for volunteers: opening letters from people in prison, matching the requests in the letters to a donated book on our shelves, and wrapping books in brown paper to be put in the mail.…
Prison Reform: Growth and Autonomy Through Education
Prison reform has a long and complicated history. Reform is often defined as how people come out of prison “changed” and with a sense of autonomy (or even freedom), while others remain the same as before they went in. Prison…
Read More Prison Reform: Growth and Autonomy Through Education
Design by WVU Student and Incarcerated Artist
APBP intern Kristin, a student at WVU, and Maruice, an incarcerated artist, worked together to create a drawing that represents many of our organization's core values. A book, to represent education; a key, to represent freedom; mountains, to represent Appalachia;…