Our 100th Post- Words of Gratitude

Dear Friends of Free Minds,

We were uploading poems this week and realized that this is our 100th post! In honor of this landmark, we wanted to take a second to give a shout out to all our poets and writers, readers and commentators, supporters and friends- everyone who has helped make this project happen.

The poetry blog grew out of a desire to build bridges across communities that are often kept separate. For many of the writers whose poetry appears here, it is the first time that they have been told that their voices matter. For many of the commentators who offer their positive feedback, it may be the first time they have seen young people in jail as writers with talent and unique perspectives. While both sides are anonymous to each other, we have been amazed at the power our small blog has to connect, educate, and inspire.

This Tuesday, we handed J, a 17 year old in DC jail, a piece of paper with feedback on his poem written by a volunteer in Massachusetts. He was delighted. “It makes me feel good to know that people like my work enough to write back,” he said. We talked for a while about how incredible it is that there is an international group of people committed to hearing and supporting the positive voices of the Free Minds young poets, and then asked if he had anything he wanted to share on this 100th post. He considered carefully, and then said:

“Thank you for letting me know that somebody is acknowledging my words, and taking the time to read the writing of young incarcerated people.”

When we deliver that piece of paper with your thoughtful feedback, comments, and encouragement, it is concrete evidence of a community support, of a network of people that believe in these young people’s ability to change, envision greater possibility, and write new chapters in their lives. It is hard to overstate the impact that this has.

So keep those comments coming!

With gratitude,
The Free Minds team