I recently had the privilege of meeting with five remarkable women newly released from Arkansas’ Wrightsville Correctional Facility. In this ‘zine, I have paired excerpts from our conversations with visual responses by artists whom I admire. Each artist was given a copy of the transcribed conversation and asked to submit artwork that responded to the former inmates’ shared experiences.
Although my time with the newly released ladies was brief, I was impressed by how they responded to the challenges of re-entry with joy, resolve, and strength of character.  Each of them possesses a conviction that they now exist beyond prison walls to serve others. To them, freedom is not the ability to live as they wish but to the power to seek the good of others.

In creating a format for these women to share their experiences, I hope that the larger community might consider its role in this transitional process. Click here to view a pdf of the ‘zine.

‘Zine artwork by Holly Laws, Anita Horton, Katie Dunn, David Bailin, Delita Martin, Kevin Cates, Lisa Renz, and letter-pressed cover design by Kim Wardenburg