As they filed into the small classroom in their shapeless orange uniforms, the twelve women greeted me politely, but their faces were guarded. I imagined mine was the same. I mustered a smile and told them this was not going to be a repeat of their high school English class. I wasn’t there to turn them all into writers. I was there because I believe words matter.
I was there, at the Rutherford County Correctional Work Center, because one thing had slowly led to another. For years I’d ignored a nudge toward some sort of prison outreach. Then I was selected as the inaugural poet laureate of Murfreesboro. Established in 2017 by Cultural Arts Murfreesboro, a division of the city’s Parks and Recreation department, the painter, photographer and poet laureate are tasked with outreach and advocacy, particularly to the underserved. This commission was the kick in the pants I needed. A training class and background check later, I was being escorted by an officer through a series of locked doors, the rules of engagement circling through my mind. Do not ask a person why they’re in jail. Do not give anything to, or take anything from, an inmate. Be alert for con games. Be your natural self.
Now, through the room’s skinny window we could see it was a bright autumn day. I wondered when the women had last been outside. Did they long for the feel of a cool breeze? The weather suddenly felt too personal a topic to broach. Instead I asked the women to tell me their thoughts about poetry.
“There’s no right or wrong answer here,” I assured them. Many looked at me skeptically. One openly scoffed. Another was “not a fan.” These reactions were not very different from most groups of adults I encounter. But one lifted her notebook and said she wrote often. Another loved rhyme.
I’d found my way to this particular group of women through Doors of Hope, a local mentoring and training program that serves inmates in area correctional facilities. Participants are non-violent offenders who must be nominated by correctional staff to attend structured programming with a focus on education and counseling. After release, Doors of Hope clients continue to receive support through a wide range of services, including job placement, residential assistance, education, medical and legal aid, and more. This proven program reduces recidivism and helps clients become productive citizens.
Each time I visited, I’d bring copies of several poems and ask the women to read along with me. We read and wrote about food, relationships, gratitude, holidays, God and more food. We read poems written by former prisoners, by children of addicts, by Tennesseans and by famous poets. We’d talk about phrases we liked, images we could really picture, endings that took us by surprise, and the occasional meaning that confounded us. Then we’d have some writing time, often using one of the poems we read as a model.
Eventually the women would say how much they identified with certain poems. Eventually they would ask for certain poets (Maya Angelou, Edgar Allan Poe) and types of poems (nature, humor, love). One of the things the women liked best was to write collective poems, where each woman contributed lines, and in subsequent sessions we revised the work to be sure it reflected what the group wanted it to say. I’d know we were done when they’d start copying down the latest revision, or asking if I’d bring extra copies next time. They were proud of their work, and I was proud of them.
It was a privilege and a joy to work with these women, to remind them each time we met that words matter and that, marginalized as they have been, their voices matter. And what they tell themselves matters. That creative expression in any form is a tool for building a healthy and whole life. Now I read again the words they wrote, and I am so hopeful they believe.
Firefly Supper Benefits Doors of Hope on Oct. 18
The fourth annual Firefly Supper benefiting Doors of Hope will take place on Thursday, Oct. 18, at Stone Gate Farm. Attendees will enjoy a farm-to-table dinner prepared by several local chefs and served by Blackman High School’s Culinary Arts Department. The evening’s program will include an update on the growth and accomplishments of the organization in the past year. Tickets to the event are available by contacting Doors of Hope at 615-900-0634 or by emailing Stephanie Kinard at stephdrk@gmail.com.
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WE COME FROM THE DOWN HOME BLUES
— by the Women of the Doors of Hope Reentry Program
May–June 2018
We come from sleepless sad nights,
from a single mother
in a house with a picture on the wall
that says What’s a home without a mother.
We come from fish sticks and ramen noodles,
taters and beans most every day.
We come from hard workers and winos,
from Heinz 57 DNA.
We come from ashtrays and aftershave,
from the smell of country ham,
the stench of nicotine
and neglect.
We come from can’t never could do nothing
and go cut me a switch.
We come from the workhouse—
from hard bunks and handcuffs,
thin blankets and push button showers,
no privacy, constant scrutiny,
NA, RU, New Vision, Doors of Hope,
up at 4:30, an open Bible.
But we also come from sweet honeysuckle vines
and tall chestnut trees, from strong coffee
and cast iron skillets,
from shindigs and bonfires,
railroads and red shag carpet,
voodoo cousins
and Holy Ghost tent revivals.
We come from box TVs and record players,
8-track tapes and
an achy-breaky heart.
We’re black. We’re Irish. We’re native.
We’re American.
We’re from Tennessee and we’re proud.
We come from hand-me-downs of
funny and caring, of praying, of hearing
You can do it.
You’ll always be beautiful.
Rise and shine.
(* NA is Narcotics Anonymous; RU is also a recovery program.)
