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April 21, 2009
N.J. prisons confiscate collection of prisoner poems and stories
Published in the Millburn NJ Item weekly paper
Inmates' creative voices silenced
(by Jessica Maxwell - April 29, 2009)
When township resident and author Kal Wagenheim published a book of creative works written by prisoners at New Jersey State Prison in Trenton, his goal of having the inmates see their writing published was put on hold when he learned the book was banned from the prison. "Inside/Out: Voices From New Jersey State Prison," self-published by Wagenheim earlier this year, is a collection of poems, short stories and essays written by 43 inmates at the prison. The book came as a result of the monthly creative writing course Wagenheim had been teaching to the inmates for about six years through the Hispanic Americans for Progress or HAP program.
Wagenheim received an e-mail from the Department of Corrections ombudsman Dan DiBenedetti which stated that the book references illegal activities such as gang activity, drug use, assaultive behavior and murder.
"I was told that it contained descriptions of criminal offenses and that it wouldn’t be allowed in the prison," said Wagenheim. "I don’t believe there is anything harmful in there. Ninety percent of their expressions are of sadness and regret for what they have done."
The final decision regarding the banning will be made by Corrections Commissioner George Hayman. Wagenheim spoke to Hayman last week and was told the issue is under review but there is no time frame for when a decision will be made.
Wagenheim recently learned that several transferred inmates were allowed to receive copies of the book.
"There were several prisoners that I taught at the New Jersey State Prison that were transferred to other prisons, including the one in Rahway. I just got word that those prisoners in Rahway received copies of the book," said Wagenheim. "I am puzzled and I am trying to figure it all out."
The book was published as a tribute to the writers and Wagenheim is saddened that the inmates might never get a chance to see the finished product.
"Some of the Rahway prisoners who were able to read the book sent me glowing letters. They are ecstatic over seeing their work in print," said Wagenheim.
Wagenheim has said the most telling endorsement he received about the book came from Theo Bensen, a research program specialist at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in Sacramento, Ca. Wagenheim published Bensen’s comments in the "Praise from readers" section in his book.
"It is hard to believe that people in such dire circumstances can create such lovely work," Bensen wrote. "I must also believe that this was an excellent form of anger management for the authors; having the chance to pour their hearts out in a positive way. This program might well be transplanted to other institutions."
Still upset over the canceling of his creative writing class in 2006, Wagenheim hopes prison officials will consider reinstating his class and others that were disbanded. According to Wagenheim, the HAP program and subsequently his creative writing course were canceled after prison officials found cell phones and several weapons in the prison.
"Just because one or two people may have taken part in something illegal, does that mean you shut down the entire educational program?" said Wagenheim. "I think it’s really unwise and I feel sad for the inmates. There have been studies done that show the more education we have in the prisons the less chance there will be repeat offenses. If you train people in a positive way the hope is that they will go out into the world, get jobs, support their families and pay their taxes. So it’s good for the inmates and it’s good for you and me, the taxpayers."
***
Kal W. comment: This article was published before we learned that the books in Rahway prison were
confiscated also. I have since contacted The Item, and other newspapers, to see if they will follow up
on the current negative development.
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N.J. prisons confiscate collection of prisoner poems and stories
April 20, 2009 21:02PM
by Chris Megerian/Statehouse Bureau
In one New Jersey prison, a published collection of poems and prose penned by prisoners is in a lockup of its own while corrections authorities decide whether it is inflammatory.
Author Kal Wagenheim, who taught creative writing to some of the state's most dangerous inmates for six years, collected his students' poems, short stories and essays into a soft-covered book that he published earlier this year. But when he tried to send copies of the book into the prison, a mailroom supervisor confiscated them because parts were considered inflammatory, Department of Corrections spokesman Matt Schuman said.
"When you're dealing with prisons, safety and security are paramount," Schuman said.
A final decision on the collection, "Inside/Out: Voices From New Jersey State Prison," will be made by Corrections Commissioner George W. Hayman. The commissioner today said he has no timetable and would meet with Wagenheim after he makes his decision.
Wagenheim said he was angry inmates would not be able to see the writing they composed behind bars.
"I think it's ridiculous," said Wagenheim, 74, of Millburn. "What harm could there be in a book like that?"
In an e-mail sent to Wagenheim last Monday, Department of Corrections ombudsman Dan DiBenedetti said some of the topics were inappropriate.
"The book contains references to illegal activities such as gang activity, drug use, assaultive behavior and murder," he wrote.
The 187-page book features the work of 43 inmates, at least three-quarters convicted of murder or manslaughter and all housed at the maximum-security prison. The collection contains a mix of fiction, nonfiction and poetry.
Several of the writers express regret for their criminal actions in essays with titles like "School of Hard Knocks" and "Change is Possible."
"I was 16 when I was arrested, and in prison by the age of 17," wrote Luis Beltran, who was sentenced to at least 60 years for murder. "It's like I also died that day and I am being kept alive to regret it every hour of every day."
Other writers reflected on the dangers of growing up on the street.
"Bullets poppin' out of guns/Caskets droppin' filled with sons/who look like each other./Brothers from another mother/who cried tears ... living in fear," wrote Dudley Rue, also in prison for murder.
Wagenheim, who wrote biographies of baseball legends Babe Ruth and Roberto Clemente and also taught several courses at Columbia University, was brought in to teach creative writing by Hispanic Americans for Progress, a nonprofit organization founded by inmates at New Jersey State Prison, which houses about 1,800 inmates.
Prison officials disbanded Hispanic Americans for Progress and canceled Wagenheim's once-a-month class in 2006 after a loaded handgun and three knives were found in the prison. Hector Sanabria, a Wagenheim student who is serving a 90-year sentence for three murders, was accused of helping smuggle the weapons.
A March 2008 appellate court decision upholding the disciplinary charges against Sanabria, 48, said he used Hispanic Americans as cover to avoid being caught smuggling.
Two of Sanabria's pieces are included in Wagenheim's book. In one essay, "The Consequences of Not Caring," he reflects on the decisions that landed him in prison and the pain of not being able to see his family.
"I am a man doing 90 years to life and I understand the meaning of life more now than ever," he wrote. "I miss talking to my mother and being around my brothers and sisters. I feel their love and at the same time feel pain, because I am unable to share my love with them."
Wagenheim said the canceling of the class spurred his decision to publish the book.
"I felt a sort of a duty to these men that their work would be preserved," he said.
Schuman, who declined to comment on the smuggling case, said the prison still has a variety of educational and vocational programs.
Jim Gondles, executive director of the American Correctional Association, said prison administrators generally try to keep out books that are considered harmful.
"It's not unusual for them to prevent stories and books that have to do with crime and violence from the prison," he said. "(Inmates) don't have the constitutional right to get anything and everything they want."
Corrections spokeswoman Danielle Hunter said inmates could use "inappropriate" writing to plan crimes or encourage violent activity.
"Anything is possible," she said. "Our inmates are very creative."
Wagenheim said he hopes the collection, published with the help of a do-it-yourself service based in California, presents a more nuanced look at New Jersey's inmate population.
"The human condition is a very complex one," he said. "There's a lot of people who have done some very bad things in life, but they're also capable of doing some good things."
From an entry on the Writing from Inside pages of the Real Cost of Prisons Project:
Inside Out: Voices from New Jersey State Prison
Poems, stories, memoirs, and commentaries by forty-three inmates. This is a 20-page sampler assembled by Kal Wagenheim, who for 5 years directed a creative writing workshop at the NJ State Prison in Trenton NJ. It is a small part of a 70,000 word book with inmates' poems, stories, essays. Some of the poems are also available online at http://www.jerseyworks.com/trentonstate.html. The 20 page sampler can be found at:
http://realcostofprisons.org/materials/voices-trenton.doc
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/04/nj_prisons_confiscate_collecti.html
Posted by lois at April 21, 2009 03:09 PM