PULLMAN, Wash. – A film, lectures and art show Sept. 28-29 at Washington State University will explore how prison inmates experience healing and restoration through art, music and creative writing.
The free, public events, hosted by the English department, tie into topics about incarceration raised in WSU’s common reading book, “Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption,” by attorney Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative (http://www.eji.org/).
The events are:
“At Night I Fly: Images from New Folsom,” 7-8:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 28, in Todd 216. The 2011 award-winning film looks at California’s state-funded Arts in Corrections (AIC) program. Former AIC program director Jim Carlson will conduct a Q&A session afterward.
Art exhibit and reception, “Outsider Art: Work from New Folsom Prison, 1994-2014,” 5-6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 29, in the Bundy Reading Room of Avery Hall. The exhibit, on display through February, has been curated by Anna Plemons, a WSU instructor who studies prison writing programs and has taught creative nonfiction at New Folsom Prison in California since 2009.
WSU faculty who want to arrange a class visit to the exhibit may contact the English department at 509-335-2581.
“Re-imagining Rehabilitation: A Mother’s Story,” a talk by Carol Hinds, AIC champion and mother of a New Folsom inmate, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 29, in Todd 216. Her son began serving a “25-to-life” sentence in 2000. She has spoken before the California legislature and nationally, challenging audiences to think broadly about what an agenda for restorative justice might look like.
The common reading stamp will be available for WSU students needing proof of attendance at these events.
Contact:
Anna Plemons, WSU English department, 509-335-2644, aplemons@wsu.edu