quickly establishes a shared inspirational, safe and productive space.  It helps people who are gathered to write their stories to find the starting point, which we call the "Page One Moment," that will launch days, weeks, and sometimes a lifetime of writing.  This is so whether these workshops take place via Zoom, uniting people across the nation, or in person, whether behind or beyond bars.

 

We share this ten-minute video to illustrate how Shamah ShaRize, a formerly incarcerated teacher, joins our founder in modeling "If Your Words Have the Power," as we welcome two new members to jump out of their own modeling of “If Your Words Had the Power” to image the shape that their writing journey will take.

 

This oral imaging from the heart is at the core of our pedagogy, as it is spread from one teaching artist to another, in a cacophony of choral voices leading to the creation of new literary works that change hearts, minds and lives.  The Herstory Beyond Bars Fellows, depicted here will be actively interacting with the new cohorts behind bars that our proposed project will support.