What I Learned From a Year of ‘Life Inside’
The Marshall Project, April 7, 2023: What I Learned From a Year of ‘Life Inside’
“Writing has always felt like the only way for me to make sense of things. Since first grade, I have been a journal-keeper, a note-taker and a list-maker. So it was one of those full-circle moments when I became The Marshall Project’s 2022 Tow Audience Engagement Fellow, with a focus on ‘Life Inside.’ As I fielded questions from potential contributors, tracked and edited their submissions, and co-developed guidelines, I learned the unique challenges of publishing personal essays and ‘as-told-to’ pieces about the criminal justice system.
“While some Life Inside contributors experience the system through their work or their loved ones, most are currently incarcerated. Their daily lives are, by design, hidden from the public. There are the physical walls of prisons, jails and immigration detention centers; the tightly regulated visits; the official monitoring of phone calls and mail; and the threat — real or imagined — of retaliation by authorities. These conditions complicate the already-difficult task of blending journalism and creative writing.
“After all, the key to producing any good piece of creative nonfiction is clear communication between the writer, editor, and, in the case of Life Inside pieces, the fact checker. While people in the free world can use the internet for research and news, most corrections facilities don’t give prisoners access to this resource.”
Additional reading:
Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism Capstones: New York State Prison Visit Guide
