Hurricane Carter uses Bibliotherapy to Break the Bonds of Prison

"Carter's spirits rose at [Victor] Frankl's words, which he read over and over.  He had always seen prison as a scourge on his spirit, not as an opportunity for growth.  Frankl confirmed that true freedom could be realized not by digging through a prison barrier but by excavating one's inner life." 

(James S. Hirsch)

Rubin "Hurricane" Carter was wrongly convicted of a triple murder in Paterson , New Jersey in 1966. He spent almost 20 years in jail, rotting away in a cell.  Full of anger and bitterness, he found himself wasting away.  He decided to do something about it.  He wrote a book about his life, a book that would make him famous, at least for a short time.  However, it did not secure his freedom, at least not for many years.

Carter figured he had two options:  he could vegetate in jail or he could rise above his circumstances, a type of "inner triumph".  One day, Carter was walking on the prison grounds when a pinprick of light appeared in the prison wall.  It grew bigger and he could see on the other side of the barricade.  "He noticed cars driving down the street, children walking to school."  Carter thought to himself:  "...perhaps the prison walls were not real.  Perhaps he could walk right through that wall."  (http://www.amazon.ca/Hurricane-Miraculous-Journey-Rubin-Carter/dp/0618087281)

Transcending the prison became Carter's mission.  "From that moment on, I decided to take control of my life.  I made up my mind to turn my body into a weapon.  I would be a warrior scholar.  I boxed. I went to school.  I began reading W. E. B. Dubois, Richard Wright." http://www.metacafe.com/watch/an-oxeeb7bJ7hbbYm/the_hurricane_1999_rubin_carter_training/ 

Thom Kidrin, a part of Carter's defence committee, started making monthly visits to the prison, loaded down with books.  Carter would stay awake for two days straight in his cell, with four or five books laying on his bed, pouring over them.

Victor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning spoke to him.  The Nazi concentration camp reminded him of Trenton prison.  Frankl's message rang true.  "Carter's spirits rose at [Victor] Frankl's words, which he read over and over.  He had always seen prison as a scourge on his spirit, not as an opportunity for growth.  Frankl confirmed that true freedom could be realized not by digging through a prison barrier but by excavating one's inner life." 

Carter devoured book after book.  The Autobiography of Malcolm X was another title which really affected him.  He requested works that had inspired Malcolm X.  Kidrin brought him W. E. B. Duboi's Souls of Black Folk, an anthology of essays on race first published in 1903.  

Carter was beginning to comprehend the redemptive power of literature, how reading a book helped put the reader in another man's shoes.  Ouspensky's A New Model of the Universe, helped Carter understand his adversaries.  The anger and bitterness, which had once held him hostage, were beginning to dissipate.  The walls of the prison, which had once seemed insurmountable, were now merely walls of concrete, not barriers to freedom.

Carter served almost 20 years in jail.  A young man from Brooklyn read his autobiography which set off a series of events leading to Carter's release from prison in 1986.  For the full story, read my post "The Power of the Pen" at http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2011/05/power-of-pen.html.

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/4/21/-hurricane-cartersbiggestfight.html

  

How to Write a Reader-Friendly Essay

"Good writing is never merely about following a set of directions." (Rachel Scheller)

While it is important to learn the basic rules of writing an essay, once you have done this, it is important to break away from tradition and find a fresh approach, says blogger Rachel Scheller (http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/there-are-no-rules/how-to-write-a-reader-friendly-essay).  Read other people's work with an analytical eye.  When you spot something "electric on the page", go back and determine what made it so.  Try to mimic the technique in your writing.  For instance, a young James Baldwin was heavily influenced by fellow black writer Richard Wright.  He likely incorporated some of Wright's techniques in his early works.  However, Baldwin soon found his own voice and style.  

First drafts of essays tend to be writer-based.  In your second draft, don't just edit the structure, organization, spelling and grammar of your work.  Translate it into a reader friendly essay.  Imagine someone else wrote it and come at it with an objective eye.   

"Be prepared to let it take on a shape of its own if this will create a more accurate, clearer, better argued essay," explains Stephen McClaren in Essay Writing Made Easy.  Take out anything irrelevant, anything that doesn't advance your argument.  When you take it out, it should be obvious that it didn't belong in the essay to start with.  McClaren likens an essay with a sentence or paragraph that doesn't fit to a painting of Sydney Harbour with a structure that doesn't belong (say, perhaps, the Statue of Liberty).  

McClaren offers a checklist to follow when crafting your essay:

• is it writer-based or reader-based?
• is there a clear argument?
• is this material relevant?
• what further information is needed?
• is this statement backed up with evidence?
• is there an organizational principle ordering the points discussed?
• is the wording clear? (try it out on someone else)
• how can I express this more clearly?

http://alanstreets.net/paintings/cityscapes/

This artist, Alan Streets, brought his own flair to the painting of the Sydney Harbour.  The signature pieces of the harbour are there:  the bridge, the opera house, the water.  However, he did not copy a photograph.  Bring the same flair to your essay.  

Civil Rights Poetry

From slavery to Black Power, poets have been moved to write about civil rights.

1.  To Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe (1854), was written in reaction to the anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, a novel loosely based on the slave life of Josiah Hensen
(http://utc.iath.virginia.edu/africam/afpo03at.html).

http://www.blackpast.org/aah/uncle-toms-cabin-1852

2.  The Hunters of Men (1835), written by John Greenleaf Whittier, brings to the forefront the hunting of escaped slaves, complete with hounds and whips (http://www.bartleby.com/372/236.html).

http://myweb.northshore.edu/users/sherman/whittier/abolitionist/huntersofmen.html

3.  I Have Seen Black Hands (1934), written by Richard Wright, who was denied a library card as a child because he was black (https://www.questia.com/magazine/1P3-44716921/i-have-seen-black-hands).

http://www.literaryramblings.com/1000-books-in-10-years-vol-262-quicksand-by-nella-larsen

4.  Let America be America Again (1936), written by Langston Hughes, talks about all skin colours (http://www.crmvet.org/poetry/fhughes.htm#flabaa).

http://hivesociety.weebly.com/the-buzz/let-america-be-america-again

5.  A Seat on the Bus for Rosa, by Luke Easter, focusses on seamstress Rosa Parks who, in 1954, refused to give up her seat on an Alabama bus to a white person, prompting the famous bus boycott (http://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/a_seat_on_the_bus_for_rosa_22607).

http://deepsouthmag.com/2015/02/mrs-parks-and-the-maids-of-mississippi/

6.  Ode to Emmett Till (2013) was written in honour of the black boy who was lynched for supposedly "whistling" at a white girl in 1955 (http://www.powerpoetry.org/poems/ode-emmett-till).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmett_Till

7.  The Little Girl from Little Rock (2004), by Joan Dresner Bernstein, features the black girl who along with nine other helped integrate Little Rock High in 1957 (http://www.crmvet.org/poetry/pjoan.htm).



                             

http://potus-geeks.livejournal.com/232302.html

8.  Mississippi Burning Poem, written by blogger Leah (2011), talks about the four civil rights activists who were murdered in Mississippi in 1964 (http://until-im27.blogspot.ca/2011/06/mississippi-burning-poems.html).

http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/28/us/mississippi-murders/

9.  Here is my civil rights poem, Justice for Johnnie Mae (2008), written in honour of the mother of ten, Johnnie Mae Chappell, who was gunned down on her way home from work in Florida in 1964.

In the ditch at the end of the day

A black lady looked for her wallet.

Inside was all of her weekly pay,

This mother of ten named Johnnie Mae.

As a loud shot rang out, she was hit.

An ambulance marked "colored" was hailed.

Her husband held her hand for a bit,

Yet despite his pleas, her heart soon quit.

At the church, as her small children wailed

Murdered Johnnie Mae was laid to rest.

But five months went by with no one jailed

In old Jacksonville, justice had failed.

"Four white men killed her" detectives say.

But the sheriff freed them anyway.

Ten grown children continue to pray

All seeking justice for Johnnie Mae.

http://crimefeed.com/2014/04/murder-johnnie-mae-chappell/

How to Exercise Your Poetic Muscles

Just as a weight lifter exercises his muscles daily, so too must a writer.  John Hewitt lists several ways to get the creative juices flowing.  Here are ten of them:

1.  Make a list of poems with memorable lines.  Re-read them and determine why they stand out.

Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife

Their sober wishes never learned to stray

Along the cool sequestered veil of life

They kept the noiseless tenor of their ways.

(Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard, Thomas Gray)

Note:  Far From the Madding Crowd is also a novel by Thomas Hardy.

2.  Every poet has written a bad poem, if not several.  Write the worst poem possible filled with cliches, pretentious words and a "beat the reader over the head" theme.  Write several if you have to.  Get it out of your system.  Now you are mind is free to write your "masterpiece".

You stood in the classroom

lean and lanky

and told us your genius poem

"Roses are red

Violets are blue"

I like tractors.

(The Coffee Shop Times, Starr)

3.  "Listen to criticism and try to learn from it, but don't live or die by it."  Everyone is a critic.  Sometimes people have constructive criticism.  Others are simply nitpicking.  Try to distinguish one type from the other.  Learn from the constructive advice and then move on.  Read the following blog: http://positivewriter.com/how-to-give-constructive-writing-criticism-that-actually-helps/.

4.  The bigger the theme, the more important the details are.  Use vivid language.  Employ all five senses.

http://www.weblogtheworld.com/countries/northern-america/america/america_ca/city-losangeles/four-ted-2013-speakers-who-appeal-to-our-sensory-selves/

5.  Write a poem that is the opposite of what you believe.  Suspend your belief system, just for one day.

http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5464/Question%20Type_0.jpg

6.  Listen to talk radio.  Great characters emerge from such sessions.

http://alltalkradio.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/On-The-Air-All-Talk-Radio.jpg

7.  Every line of your poem should be important.  If your poem has three great lines, it should be three lines long.

Whitecaps on the bay

A broken sign board banging

In the April wind.

(Richard Wright)

8.  When your write a great poem, immediately write another one.  Go with the momentum.

http://alltalkradio.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/On-The-Air-All-Talk-Radio.jpg

9.  Write in different places to gather inspiration ex. park, street corner, alley.

http://www.wiseinkblog.com/writing-2/13-inspirational-places-to-write-that-isnt-a-cafe/

10.  Publish a poetry journal or website.  Get the word out about your writing.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/108313630/large-poetry-journal-diary-notebook

*To read all of John Hewitts' suggestions, visit http://www.poewar.com/poetry-writing-tips/.

*For a list of creative writing prompts for poetry, visit http://www.creative-writing-now.com/creative-writing-prompts.html.

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

"The meteroic rise of the penny presses and their significant influence on thinking have only been eclipsed by the Internet and hypertext." 

(Rich Biel at http://blogs.ubc.ca/etec540sept09/2009/10/19/the-rise-of-penny-newspapers-and-their-influence-on-mass-media/)

The Sun masthead courtesy http://penny-papers.wikispaces.com/file/view/the%20sun%20banner.jpg/375532168/564x242/the%20sun%20banner.jpg.

The rise of the penny press contributed to a rise in the literacy rate in the United States.  Previously newspapers had been priced at 6 cents a copy, making them unaffordable for the middle and lower class.  However, with the invention of the penny paper, newspapers became accessible to the masses.  

By the 1830's, newspapers were being printed by a steam power press rather than handcrafted, speeding up the process.  Newspapers relied heavily on subscriptions and political parties for support.  However, the penny papers relied instead on advertisements to pay for their expenses.  

http://www.wkfinetools.com/hUS-saws/Hoe&co/advert/1851-09-26-Hoe&Co-NewYorkDailyTimes/1851-09-26-Hoe&Co-NewYorkDailyTimes.jpg

An early penny newspaper was the Boston Transcript which first rolled off the presses in 1830 featuring articles about literature and the theater.  In 1833, the New York City Morning Post offered "all the news of the day and a medium for advertisements" to New Yorkers.  The Morning Post followed the London Plan example, using newsboys on street corners to hawk its newspaper.

The same year, Benjamin Day debuted his paper, The Sun which featured human interest stories and prided itself on high quality reporting and writing.  It too relied on ads rather than subscriptions. With its simple vocabulary and diction, the Sun developped a readership not just among adults, but also children.  It was little Virginia O'Hanlon, in 1897, who wrote her famous letter to the Sun and received the response "Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yes,_Virginia,_there_is_a_Santa_Claus#mediaviewer/File:Virginia_Santa_Claus.png

As one writer pointed out, "In the cities of New York and Brooklyn, containing a population of 300,000, the daily circulation of the paper is not less than 7,000.  This nearly sufficient to place a newspaper in the hands of every man in the two cities and even of every boy old enough to read." With a rise in readership came a rise in literacy.  And with a rise in literacy a rise in the power of the working class.  Public education became a part of the American consciousness. 

Some would argue that the penny press dumbed down the newspaper.  Whereas before articles focussed on politics, public statement and commercial and foreign news, the penny papers featured articles about humour, sex, sports and crime.  Yet, the penny press was giving its readers what they wanted.  Its owners knew that if the content was interesting, it kept the readers coming back for more.

American comic circa 1881 courtesy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_American_comics#mediaviewer/File:A.B.Frost_1881-07_Harper%27s_monthly_374_vol63_p320_our_cat_eats_rat_poison.png.

The newspaper continued to influence the literacy level in the United States into the 20th Century.  A young black boy growing up in the Deep South was denied a library card due to his skin colour,  His mother, a teacher, used to dig through garbage cans to find comics for him to read, comics which came from the newspapers of the day.   The young man grew up to become one of the most influential writers of his time, Richard Wright.

While some of the penny papers folded, some remain active, including The New York Daily Times, which is now The New York Times, which continues to influence readers, far and wide, young and old, rich and poor.  The only difference is that today the paper costs $2.50 rather than one penny.