Prisoner Express Theme Essays

Prisoner Express establishes both a Word Theme and a Picture Theme for each month for prisoners to base their writing off of. These themes inspire both creative and personal writing, and PE members are encouraged to submit writing for each theme. If a prisoner writes a theme essay they receive a Theme Essay newsletter, a packet that consists of all the writing done that month on the subjects.

Volunteers read and type all the essays to create the compilation. Prisoners reading each other’s writing goes a long way in helping them understand their own experience. It also breaks down barriers between racial and ethnic groups who traditionally stay isolated in prison.

"The theme essays and journals are our expression of feeling that help rehabilitate our hearts and minds. Not just by us writing, but also in reading what others write. In seeing that others have the same issues and problems that we are personally are dealing with, means that we are not alone." - Brandon R., Inmate

It is clear through their writings that they share similar experiences and their common humanity shines through. Prisoners take great pride in seeing their essays published, and are motivated to continually improve their writing skills.

You Talk too Much

     Ohhh you sneaky snake, you did it!  They said it couldn’t be done, but you did it!  Hee-he-hee, you did it!  They said it was impossible, but you, you’ve proven them all wrong!  Oh my, what a marvelous feat!  Simply marvelous!  I alone saw it!  I alone know!…

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Narcotics Anonymous

     Everyone has heard of “A.A.” Me, I became a member of N.A. Drugs was my downfall. All makes, all kinds. Of course I had to wash  it all down with alcohol. I guess that’s why I had to make a few of those A.A. meetings also.    …

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Kindness without Question

     Does it really matter who receives an act of charity, or is the important thing the act itself? In December 2008, one of the greatest acts of kindness ever to have been done for me in my (then) 53 years of life was a sham – it was…

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Thin Comfort – Joseph Stanwick

Thin Comfort- Joseph Stanwick 636416 2/1/13 We are on lock down status again as every inch of the prison compound is searched for contraband and living on thin sandwiches again, jam sandwiches we call them made of two pieces of stale bread and a spot of peanut butter jammed together. This…

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Programs

Newsletters
Journal Program
Theme Essays
Prisoner Art
Poetry
Book Packages
Volunteering

Access the Complete Prisoner Express Archive:

Signup below and we'll send you the private link to access the archive in Google Drive.

prisoner-express-archive

At this time we can only share a small fraction of prisoner work on our website and in our newsletters – but we are constantly receiving submissions of artwork, poetry, and essays from  thousands participants.

The archive is constantly growing – and as a member you have complete access to our searchable archive.