Sit in any prison classroom or recreation room in any prison in the country and ask yourself: How many writers are in the room. How many people are writing rhymes or poems? Carefully-folded pieces of paper come out of pockets – words written in tightly stylized hand-writing. And more often than not, writing is kept hidden in prisons – not out in the open. So today, we’re traveling not just to San Quentin but around the country to unpack this art form called prison poetry. We’ll visit the life of one legendary prison poet of the 1960s – who eventually helped lead a literary movement. We’ll visit the backwoods of Alabama to find poets who are currently incarcerated… and who can knock your socks off with just a few dozen words. And we’ll ask you, the listener, to write a little poetry too.
