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Some of the greatest books ever written were penned behind bars.\u00a0The\u00a0Guardian<\/em>\u00a0has compiled a list of\u00a0the 10 most important books written in prison,<\/a>\u00a0and Amazon user Robert Moore weighs in with\u00a0an even more extensive list here<\/a>.\u00a0I have no doubt that more potential masterpieces are languishing in our prison cells today, and the PEN American Center, which recently announced this year’s winners for its Prison Writing Program, again reminds us of that fact.<\/p>\n The winning essay, Charles P. Norman’s “I Wore Chains to My Father’s Funeral,”<\/a> is a moving memoir about the experience of losing a loved one in prison — an experience that’s almost universal among long-term prisoners. Dozens of winners in poetry, drama, memoir, fiction and essay categories are also represented — take a look<\/a>.<\/p>\n I recently read “Couldn’t Keep it To Myself<\/a>,” an excellent collection of personal stories written by women in a Connecticut prison and collected by Wally Lamb. The collection was heartbreaking, and a reflection of the remarkable passion that can be channeled through exposure to writing instruction. (Unfortunately, prison officials\u00a0weren’t happy with the book’s success<\/a>. The state sued former prisoners who had written, though they eventually\u00a0settled the lawsuit and allowed the program to continue<\/a>)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n By supporting writers in prison and encouraging prisoners to tell their stories through the written word, as PEN does, we can give a voice to the two million people silenced through our unjust policies and teach critical life skills at the same time.<\/p>\n In the coming years, it’s my hope that efforts like PEN can form connections with criminal justice reform work online, creating new opportunities for prisoners to write in different mediums — on the web, for the Kindle and in books and magazines. For now, though, to keep this effort growing, please considerdonating $25 to PEN today<\/a>\u00a0— that donation alone will allow PEN to send 12 of their writing handbooks to prisoners. Anyone in prison can submit their writing for PEN’s contest\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n As I wrote recently, one of Martin Luther King’s most famous writings came from a jail cell in Birmingham. In it, he wrote: “What else can one do when he is alone in a narrow jail cell, other than write long letters, think long thoughts and pray long prayers?”<\/p>\n Hat tip to The Crime Report<\/a> for printing Charles Norman’s essay this week.<\/p>\n