Write & Rise
 
Violence happens when words fail. - Eli Weisel We don’t bring a thousand pens and pencils We bring a shovel to pass from hand to hand We don’t come with reams and reams of paper We come with the proverbial burial ground … and we dig … and we dig deep- R. L. Love, San Francisco County Jail, 2005 Write & Rise provides the means for self-exploration through writing for adults and youth affected by incarceration to facilitate the healing of individuals, their families, communities, and the wider society. Our mission is to help heal the wounds that lead to incarceration, forge connection between diverse communities, and foster social change. The long-term goal of Write & Rise is to serve at-risk, incarcerated, and previously incarcerated individuals nationwide.We provide autobiography-writing workshops in jails, prisons, and community and treatment centers.We publish anthologies and single author books by adults and youth affected by incarceration.We host public readings for at-risk and previously incarcerated adults and youth.We train teachers in teacher education and other programs to facilitate self-empowerment autobiography-writing and other related curriculum-based writing activities for at-risk children, youth, and adults affected by incarceration.Write & Rise is based on the past success of founder and director Margo Perin’s writing workshops, public readings, and publications from San Francisco County Jail, which have been profiled in San Francisco Chronicle Sunday Magazine and on KALW and KPFA radio.Write & Rise currently offers writing workshops at San Quentin State Prison and San Francisco County Jail, readings and presentations around the Bay Area, and publications.Our programs give people affected by and at risk of incarceration the opportunity to rediscover their humanity and empower themselves so that they do not continue to feel the need to violate others and commit crime.It makes me feel that people believe in me... It gives me hope that I can change and no longer be a nuisance to society... I thought I was worth nothing ... Write & Risers in San Francisco County Jail, 2006 ONLY THE DEAD CAN KILL, Margo Perin’s recently published book and CD from her writing program at San Francisco County Jail, demonstrates the success of these workshops. Prisoners find the words to express their feelings, thoughts, and experiences and are given the chance to no longer be part of the equation “hurt people hurt people.†It gives them an investment and a place in society that they have never before inhabited. Photographs Chris Stewart/San Francisco Chronicle.http://www.margoperin.comhttp://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/04/30/CMGDSI07641.DTLBooks.htmlshapeimage_4_link_0shapeimage_4_link_1shapeimage_4_link_2
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