Tracy D. Schlapp and Danny J. Wilson on Cultivating Writing Communities Inside Oregon Prisons

PEN America Works of Justice

A few years ago, Tracy D. Schlapp and Danny J. Wilson were inspired by Johnny Cash’s album, At Folsom Prison (1968), to stage concerts of Cash's music in prisons around Oregon. Schlapp and Wilson's performances blossomed into Bridgeworks Oregon, a Portland-based nonprofit with the mission of using art, music and cultural awareness to bridge societal divisions throughout the state. In May 2019, the organization assembled a storytelling group, Ground Beneath Us, at Oregon State Penitentiary. The group of men wrote about life inside by responding to questions posed by local middle and high school students. The work from those writing sessions grew into the recently released anthology, Prisons Have a Long Memory: Life Inside Oregon’s Oldest Prison, featuring poetry, essays, and memoir.

In the latest episode of PEN America’s Works of Justice podcast, Moira Marquis, senior manager of the Freewrite Project for PEN America’s Prison and Justice Writing Program, asks Schlapp and Wilson about the history of Bridgeworks Oregon, their experiences learning how to advocate for incarcerated people, and their process for working between the walls for the anthology. In her accompanying review of the book, Marquis reflects on the intensity of the collected pieces, and the importance of providing reflective spaces that acknowledge and engage the emotional tolls of life for people who are denied so many rights in the carceral system in the United States.