Prison Book Program June e-Newsletter

Prison Book Program

e-Newsletter

June 2011

"I don't understand a lot of words when reading and this takes away a lot of the enjoyment of reading the books you sent and the meaning of the books. With that said will you please send me an English Dictionary?"

-A prisoner from Monroe, Washington

Annual Online Dictionary Drive

HELP US BUY 1000 DICTIONARIES - $2.74 EACH

Dictionaries fly off our shelves as fast as people donate them. We can't keep up with the demand. So we are asking you to support our "Online Dictionary Drive." Purchased wholesale in a lot of 1000, a college-level version is just $2.74 (45% off retail price). We are aiming to buy 1000 which will last us about a year.

In the hands of a struggling reader, a dictionary grants access to knowledge that would be otherwise inaccessible. A dictionary is crucial to the development of reading and communication skills for the large percentage of inmates with low-level literacy skills. See our Prisoner Writings Blog for one inmate's essay on how the dictionary changed his life.

For less than the cost of coffee and a bagel, you can support a prisoner in improving his reading skills and understanding of the world. Click a button below to make an online donation through PayPal today!

(Stay tuned to our Dictionary Drive page for updates on our progress.)

Prisoner's Poem Wins a CTK Foundation "Heart & Soul" Grant Award

PBP WINS "BLOGGER'S CHOICE" AWARD

PBP has won the "Blogger's Choice" Award in the CTK Foundation 2011 Heart & Soul grant program! Instead of asking for a jargon-laden narrative to support the grant application, CTK asked for a 4-8 line poem. We asked 25 of our prison-bound essay writers to take a shot at poetry and 15 responded.

CTK asked bloggers around the world to promote the program and randomly chose one to select their favorite poem. Howard Lake of UK Fundraising in the United Kingdom read over 1500 poems and selected "One More Book Please" by Jim Huber (Leavenworth, KS) as his favorite! PBP will receive a $1000 grant.

Here's the winning poem:

"One More Book Please!"

Suspicion, fear and anger have long ruled in this place.

I'm gone now from the world without even a trace.

You look for reprieve, far from the prison rage,

And realize the tranquil peace found in the written page.

Oh, joy you can feel, the time you can spend,

Feeling FREE AS A BIRD until you reach the end.

In closing the cover, a tear falls to the floor.

Please send another book...Please just one more.

By Jim Huber, US Penitentiary, Leavenworth

(Note: All of the winning poems can be found on the CTK Foundation website. All of the poems submitted to PBP by prisoners can be found on the PBP website.)

BWB GED Grant Update

In February, we reported the exciting news that PBP earned a Better World Books grant to provide GED study guides and dictionaries for 220 prisoners. As of the end of June, over 20 prisoners have completed and returned our GED survey form which asks questions about their level of formal education and goals for achieving their GED, and have been accepted into this program. GED books and dictionaries are on their way to these prisoners, and we will be contacting each one to track their progress toward taking the GED exam, and the lasting impact both during and after incarceration. We will report back on this program periodically, so stay tuned for more news!

Prisoner Book Review: An Anthology of Modern Irish Poetry

BY NATHANIEL ALLAN LINDELL, BOSCOBEL, WI

I've been munching on this book which Prison Book Program sent me. Freaking love it! Some of the poems I find lame, but a lot are great, complex, in styles I've never seen. So I can learn from it and am. I am a poet myself, strive to be a master poet, deeper than Poe. And I'm getting close!

I found the word lough in this book and looked it up in my Pocket Oxford American Dictionary. It's Irishy English for Loch. Loch itself is a fine, sturdy, soulful word, but I will definitely be finding ways to use lough in my writings. Maybe, "As I walk across the lough/Pondering how much I love you/..." No wonder so many people wanna be Irish!

Prisoner Poetry

BY CEDRICK HATTEN, JASPER, FL

Through books I have found

a world of dreams,

to engross my mind,

and set me free.

This wisdom I learn,

from the things I read,

give me the desire,

to better me.

Prisoner Essay: How Has Prison Changed You as a Reader?

BY PAT NEILSON, BOISE, ID

Books have allowed me to continue my education, as well as retain a level of sanity in the face of an unsettled environment. Books allow a sense of escape from the abundance of spare time, and allow me to broaden my understanding of favorable topics. I find myself drawn to subjects such as the westward expansion of European Americans and loss of native lands.

Prisoner Essay

WHAT WORDS DID YOU LOOK UP RECENTLY?

Recently I was studying a textbook on business administration. I jotted down three words from the book I did not know and looked them up in the dictionary. They were:

Aggregate-The total amount assembled
Concatenation-the state of being connected, as in a chain
Truncate-To shorten by cutting off a part

Although my original encounter with these words was in a book on business administration, I can understand how they could be used in other contexts. For instance:

The aggregate of humanity must stand as a concatenation with one another and not truncate itself by ousting, shunning, or permanently locking out those who possess the potential to contribute to the betterment of society.

More Prisoner Writings

DID YOU ENJOY THE PRISONER WRITINGS ABOVE? THERE'S MORE ON OUR WEBSITE AND BLOG

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