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Poets-behind-bars: A creative “righting” project for prisoners and poetry therapists-in-training
Abstract
Poets-Behind-Bars is an unique long-distance writing program created for prisoners of Indiana State Prison (maximum security), in which 12 poetry therapy trainees of The Creative Righting Center became mentors to 12 poets-behind-bars. Inmates participated in a research study to assess changes in personal growth, emotional balance, and increased self-expression over a period of a year and a half, during which they completed 18 assignments. This project has a dual purpose: (1) to enhance the personal growth and emotional balance of inmates through literature and writing, and (2) to enhance the skills of poetry therapy trainees.
... Moreover, psychological counseling and poetry can be combined in group counseling to improve individuals' empathy skills. It is also observed that the use of poetry in psychological counseling positively influences the empathy levels of individuals (Ingram, 2000;Phillips, 2010;Reiter, 2010;Roberts, 2010). ...
... Buna ek olarak grup danışmasında bireylerin empati düzeylerini de olumlu yönde etkilemektedir. (Ingram, 2000;Phillips, 2010;Reiter, 2010;Roberts, 2010). ...
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of group counseling using poetry on university students' empathy level. The Scale of Dimension of Interpersonal Relationship Empathy Subscale was used to identify participants' empathy level. In order to examine participants' ideas about group counseling process and sessions Group Counselling Assessment Form and a journal of sessions were also used. There were 16 group members in each experiment and control group. Participants were undergraduate students at Cukurova University. Quantitative data were analyzed by using SPSS 22 packet program to find out the effects of group counseling with poem on the empathy level. Qualitative data were analyzed by content analysis method. Results showed that group counseling had a positive and significant effect on university students' empathy scores and this effect was permanent during the time. Qualitative results of the study also supported this result.
... The results favouring the experimental group in this study support the results of previous studies (Colantone, Cunningham-Wetmore and Dreznes, 1998;Kapar Kuvanç, 2008;Maltepe, 2006b). Some of these studies include Beydemir (2010), Akkaya (2011), Reiter (2010, Alberson and Billingsley (2000), and Temizkan (2011). Beydemir (2010) employed a pretestposttest design with an experimental group (n=27) and a control group (n=26). ...
... At the end of experimental process, a significant increase was revealed in the students' writing achievement. Reiter (2010) conducted a creative writing project with imprisoned children at Indiana State Prison. The study was carried out in a total of 12 sessions, and the data obtained from the poems and assessment questions written by the children were analysed. ...
Key Words Since all sense organs are effectively used in the creative drama method, children's communication skills such as attention, perception, listening, speaking and using body language develop. This method gives children the opportunity to express themselves, their problems and imaginary world. Individuals are not passive during the activities, but active. In addition to enabling personal and social development, creative drama also helps skills of creativity and thinking differently emerge. Similar to creative drama, creative writing enables individuals to express their thoughts freely and productively. In the writing process, students should use their knowledge as well as their skill. Therefore, the development of writing skill requires long-term and effective practices. It is possible to make writing that is usually perceived as a boring activity by students interesting by using a set of activities and practices. The creative writing process makes the writing activities appealing to students. Using creative drama and creative writing activities together can increase students' motivation to write. The aim of this study is to identify the effect of creative drama and creative writing activities on creative writing achievement. Mixed method design was employed by combining qualitative and quantitative research methods. Embedded design was preferred among mixed method designs. In the study, the quantitative data were thoroughly discussed, and the qualitative data were used to support the findings. Pretest-posttest control group design was used in the quantitative part. The study was conducted with 60 4 th graders (female=33; male=27) in Denizli city centre during the 2013-2014 school year. The activities were implemented at a school with medium socioeconomic level in 14 weeks. At the end of this period, the students' views on the creative writing activities were identified. In the data gathering process, Creative Writing Works Assessment Scale (CWWAS) developed by Beydemir (2010) and a semi-structured interview form developed by the researcher were Creative Drama Creative Writing Mixed-Method Teaching Turkish F. Susar-Kırmızı 94 used. In addition, open-ended questions were prepared to be presented to the students in the creative writing activities which were used as pretest and posttest. With regard to creative writing achievement, a significant difference was determined between the pretest and posttest scores of the experimental group, but no significant differences were found in the control group. The analysis of the students' views revealed codes such as relief, expressing feelings and thoughts, finding writing interesting and being motivated to write. Most of the students asserted that they had fun, felt relieved and freer, and became more motivated to write during the creative writing activities they participated after creative drama. The students stated positive views related to the creative writing activities. The qualitative results obtained in the study supported the quantitative results.
... Forcing the writers to abide by a predetermined set of topics for writing is not therapeutic, as their memories cannot be suppressed or neglected. In fact, preventing the discussion of certain topics in writing workshops-and denying the writers a space to process their experiences-might actually impede a writer's selfawareness, understanding, and emotional and spiritual health (Baker and Mazza 2004;Hiemstra 2001;Reiter 2010). ...
... In contrast to the educational domain, therapeutic uses of poetry tend to focus on the importance of poetry in personal development, understanding the self and its capacity for self-expression, usually through the creation of new poetry (Jocson 2006;Olson-McBride and Page 2012) and bibliotherapy (Mazza 2003). There are reports of beneficial uses of poetry qua poetry in psychological and therapeutic settings from dementia, depression and schizophrenia treatment to prisons and caring for the elderly, where the emphasis is on 'exploring experience' through reading poetry (Billington, Davis, and Farrington 2013;Gregory 2011;Heimes 2011;Kidd, Zauszniewski, and Morris 2011;Reiter 2010;Shafi 2010). For example, Billington and Robinson reflect on the use of poems in reading groups for women prisoners, which created strong personal resonances for the group. ...
In recent decades, a greater awareness and familiarity has developed in relation to incorporating creative approaches to working with individuals and groups within a social work context. Art therapy, music therapy and even drama therapy have become more commonplace within the range of approaches employed by agencies and practitioners working therapeutically. However, the use of literature as a therapeutic tool is perhaps a less well-known, less developed and under-researched area of practice. This article discusses the potential for literature to be used as a therapeutic tool and explores the power of words to enable us to make sense of our surroundings and experiences. The article also presents findings of a small-scale piece of research undertaken with practitioners currently using literature in their practice. Themes arising from this research are explored such as the potential of literature to facilitate reflection, practitioners’ experiences of applying the approach, the value of engaging with literature in developing expressive language and the potential for this work in promoting inclusion.
For Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, writing is predominantly about articulating their cultural belonging and identity. Published creative writing, which is a relatively new art form among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners, has not been used as an outlet to the same extent as other forms of art. This is, however, changing as more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rappers and story-writers emerge, and as creative writing is used as a way to express Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander empowerment and resistance against discriminatory and oppressive government policies. This article explores the use of poetry and stories written by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander male prisoners in a correctional facility located in southern New South Wales, Australia, to understand how justice is perceived by people who are (and have been) surrounded by hardships, discrimination, racism, and grief over the loss of their culture, families, and freedom.
Interviews with 30 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander male prisoners who attended a culturally safe creative writing programme entitled ‘Dreaming Inside: Voices from the Junee Correctional Centre’, are used to explore how (re)connecting to culture can help improve social and emotional well‐being, and how the power of being heard and being able to express feelings and thoughts through poetry and storytelling, can help heal deep‐seated emotional trauma and grief. This article addresses a gap in research and theory regarding what types of prison programmes may be of greatest benefit for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners.
Since all sense organs are effectively used in the creative drama method, children's communication skills such as attention, perception, listening, speaking and using body language develop. This method gives children the opportunity to express themselves, their problems and imaginary world. Individuals are not passive during the activities, but active. In addition to enabling personal and social development, creative drama also helps skills of creativity and thinking differently emerge. Similar to creative drama, creative writing enables individuals to express their thoughts freely and productively. In the writing process, students should use their knowledge as well as their skill. Therefore, the development of writing skill requires long-term and effective practices. It is possible to make writing that is usually perceived as a boring activity by students interesting by using a set of activities and practices. The creative writing process makes the writing activities appealing to students. Using creative drama and creative writing activities together can increase students' motivation to write. The aim of this study is to identify the effect of creative drama and creative writing activities on creative writing achievement. Mixed method design was employed by combining qualitative and quantitative research methods. Embedded design was preferred among mixed method designs. In the study, the quantitative data were thoroughly discussed, and the qualitative data were used to support the findings. Pretest-posttest control group design was used in the quantitative part. The study was conducted with 60 4th graders (female=33; male=27) in Denizli city centre during the 2013-2014 school year. The activities were implemented at a school with medium socio-economic level in 14 weeks. At the end of this period, the students' views on the creative writing activities were identified. In the data gathering process, Creative Writing Works Assessment Scale (CWWAS) developed by Beydemir (2010) and a semi-structured interview form developed by the researcher were used. In addition, open-ended questions were prepared to be presented to the students in the creative writing activities which were used as pretest and posttest. With regard to creative writing achievement, a significant difference was determined between the pretest and posttest scores of the experimental group, but no significant differences were found in the control group. The analysis of the students' views revealed codes such as relief, expressing feelings and thoughts, finding writing interesting and being motivated to write. Most of the students asserted that they had fun, felt relieved and freer, and became more motivated to write during the creative writing activities they participated after creative drama. The students stated positive views related to the creative writing activities. The qualitative results obtained in the study supported the quantitative results.
This brief report examines the role poetry plays towards the road to recovery as witnessed through the experience of a poetry writing mentor when analyzing the poetic works of prisoners who participated in Pen America's Prison writing program.
Describes a program for poetry and creative writing in the prison setting. Offers an inmate's poetry and other writing to illustrate the kinds of growth and change that can be engendered through poetic expression. Argues that poetry is an excellent therapeutic medium for use in prisons. (SR)
Prisoners feel immense pain due to their surroundings, loss of freedom and, often, self-condemnation. Through encouragement, they can become more aware of their negative behavioral patterns and seek transformation through self-exploration. One method used to create such transformation potential is the use of poetry and psychodrama in the group therapy setting. This method creates the possibility of insights for the prisoner, leading to change in their internal thought process and increased self-esteem. By opening up an appropriate emotional channel, the prisoner regains a wider range of human expression.
The use of poetry, music, and creative writing with forensic patients at a state mental health institute is examined in this paper. It was demonstrated that expressive interventions were helpful in group treatment by promoting verbalization, decision making, and the recognition of personal responsibility for incarceration. (This paper is from a book-in-work Mind Menders.)