Critical storytelling from behind invisible bars : : undergraduates and inmates write their way out / / edited by Carmella J. Braniger [and three others].

• Superior document: Critical Storytelling ; Volume 4
• TeilnehmendeR: Braniger, Carmella J.,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden ;, Boston : : Brill Sense,, [2020]; ©2020
• Year of Publication: 2020
• Language: English
• Series: Critical storytelling ; Volume 4.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource.

Critical stories are narratives that recount the writer's experiences, situating those experiences in broader cultural contexts. In this volume of Critical Storytelling , marginalized, excluded, and oppressed peoples share insights from their liminality to help readers learn from their perspectives on living from behind invisible bars. Female inmates at Decatur's Correctional Center and the undergraduate Millikin University students who worked with them come together to give voice to their specific histories of living from behind invisibile bars and pose important questions to the reader about inciting change for the future. Specifically, the voices in this volume seek to expose, analyze, and challenge deeply-entrenched narratives and characterizations of incarcerated women, whose histories are often marked by sexual abuse, domestic violence, poverty, PTSD, a lack of education, housing insecurity, mental illness, and substance addiction. These silenced female inmate voices need to be heard and contextualized within the larger metanarrative of prison literature. Through telling critical stories, these writers attempt to: sustain recovery from trauma, make positive changes and informed decisions, create a real sense of empowerment, strengthen their capacity to exercise personal agency, and inspire audiences to create change far outside the reaches of physical and metaphorical bars.

Table of Contents

Preface -- Notes on Contributors -- Prologue -- Alex V. Miller -- 1 A Prisoner's Melody -- Sandra Brown, Jelissa Lovette and Alisha Walker -- 2 Barcode -- Sandra Brown -- 3 Caged -- Jelissa Lovette -- 4 The Forbidden & the Prohibited -- Soren Belle -- 5 Truth or Dare -- Sandra Brown -- 6 The People I Met When the Sky Went Dark -- Bric Martin -- 7 The Great Wall of Insanity -- J. M. Spence -- 8 State of Mind -- Jelissa Lovette -- 9 The Call -- Sandra Brown -- 10 Pivotal Times -- Angie Oakes -- 11 A Daughter's Sorrow -- Sandra Brown -- 12 Talking It out from the Inside -- Cara Quiett -- 13 Mother-Less Child -- Jelissa Lovette -- 14 Not Waving, Not Drowning -- Sandra Brown -- 15 Isaac -- Claire Prendergast -- 16 Prison -- Angie Oaks -- 17 Love Find Me -- Jelissa Lovette -- 18 Little Girl Lost -- Angie Oakes -- 19 Everlasting Kiss -- Jelissa Lovette -- 20 Backburner Bitch -- Anonymous -- 21 Love Alive -- Kala Keller -- 22 My Dragonfly -- Laura Neering -- 23 Puzzle Pieces in My Eyes -- Rebekah M. Icenesse -- 24 Piece of Me -- Jelissa Lovette -- 25 Nothing New under the Sun -- Sandra Brown -- 26 Living a Life with Invisible Bars -- Kathlyn J. Housh -- 27 Where Would I Be -- Jelissa Lovette -- 28 My Odyssey -- Sandra Brown -- 29 What Makes Straight so Great? -- Dwight G. Brown, Jr. -- 30 Nature's Sanctuary -- Angie Oakes -- 31 Nature's Pride and Promise -- Cara Quiett -- 32 Finding Stability in Motion -- Megan Batty -- 33 Queen of Soul -- Jelisa Lovette -- 34 Melodies & Recipes -- Cara Quiett -- 35 Unanswered Questions -- Paiten Hamilton -- 36 Gregory's Gift -- Sandra Brown -- 37 Sentimental Syrup -- Cara Quiett -- 38 Perfection: A History of Me & My Multi-Colored Elephants -- Kathryn A. Coffey -- 39 Final Thoughts -- Sandra Brown -- 40 Stopping the Cycle: My Journey with Generational Body Image -- Kelly Cunningham -- 41 My Four Opportunities to Grow Up -- Noah Villarreal -- 42 My Last Bow -- Amanda Minetti -- 43 The Eulogy -- Sandra Brown -- 44 Yoga Me Free -- Cara Quiett -- 45 Metamorphosis -- Sandra Brown -- Epilogue -- Carmella J. Braniger, Rebekah M. Icenesse, Kathryn A. Coffey and Alex V. Miller.