PONYXPRESS WRITERS
ACROSS the state of OREGON
theponyXpress.org
WRITING WORKSHOPS | ONLINE JOURNAL | PUBLIC READINGS
As a child I was taught to respect them as I entered their domain with this chant: Guelo yan Guela
Dispensa yo sa hu nesista bai usa y tano mu
Yanggen matto hao gi tano hu sina hu na setbi y tano hu
“Male Ancestor and Female Ancestor,
Excuse me because I need to use your land or take from it.
If you are ever on my land you are welcome to anything on it.”
Jimmy Kashi, Tao Tao Mona
Building on the anthology Prisons Have A Long Memory, Danny Wilson and Tracy Schlapp have created a program that assembles writing from people who are incarcerated in Oregon. An editorial board at Oregon State Penitentiary works with the two mentors to solicit writing, select, and edit it. Schlapp and Wilson produce on-site workshops at prisons around Oregon to encourage submissions, along with a monthly newsletter for interested writers. The collection is published online at the ponyXpress, a platform that welcomes subscribers — sections are released weekly. PonyXpress writers present their writing within their prison communities. This work is also distributed inside through intra-prison communication channels and in 2024 will be added to Edovo, a free educational platform available on prison tablets.
The PonyXpress has received generous support from Oregon Cultural Trust, The Marie Lamfrom Foundation, Spirit Mountain Community Fund, Oregon Community Foundation, Oregon Humanities and the Oregon Arts Commission. Subscribe for free! Paid subscriptions fund the program directly.
PRISONS HAVE A LONG MEMORY
LIFE INSIDE OREGON’S OLDEST PRISON
“Like a fish in a net, but still in water.” Le’Var Howard
Danny Wilson and Tracy Schlapp assembled the storytelling group Ground Beneath Us at Oregon State Penitentiary in May 2019. For the past three years, they have mentored men in writing about life inside, using questions posed by middle and high school students as a springboard. Over seventy thousand children in Oregon are impacted by incarceration. These kids have questions they may be afraid to pose to their family members who serve time: fathers, mothers, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters. Prison life requires a person to do difficult personal work and redefine oneself. This writing is testimony to that work. The result is a rich anthology filled with poetry, essays, and memoir that present a picture of life at OSP and an exploration of the internal struggle to atone, find peace, and create community. Adult in Custody editorial board members have assembled a selection of powerful stories to be shared with the outside world. Wilson and Schlapp provided editorial support and guidance to the writers. Prisons Have a Long Memory is presented within prisons and neighboring communities throughout Oregon thanks to support from the Spirit Mountain Community Fund, Oregon Humanities, the Oregon Arts Commission, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
HECATE’S LANTERN
WRITING WORKSHOP AT THE STATE’S FACILITY FOR WOMEN
A sister storytelling workshop at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility is underway. The six-month writing mentorship program results in a collaborative published volume written by adults in custody with artist and writer Tracy Schlapp and musician Danny Wilson. This project received funding from a Regional Arts & Culture Council project grant.
The Greek Goddess Hecate carried a lantern, a blade, a rope, and a mirror to help her navigate the underworld, the heavens, and the seas. Painting by Daniel Duford.
Lakota Oyate-Ki Chief Matt Reyes records his testemony “I Am A Survivor”
AbdurRashid Al’Wadud records his essay, “Child of the Diaspora”
The PonyXpress workshops cultivate conversations.
Each writing workshop begins with ringing the Tibetan Singing Bowl followed by the reading of a poem. The ritual helps assemble the group and quiet the noise of the prison outside the doors.
Press sheet from forthcoming anthology Prisons Have A Long Memory.
Reading material and journals supplied to adults and custody are produced in the Cumbersome Multiples letterpress studio.
The first readings for the Ground Beneath Us group at Oregon State Penitentiary.