“Reading it, we learn so much about the power of writing, about teaching, about what education makes possible, and about the urgent human capacity to define who we are.”
Mike Rose, author of Back to School: Why Everyone Deserves a Second Chance at Education
Deborah Appleman is the Hollis L. Caswell Professor of Educational Studies and director of the Summer Writing Program at Carleton College. She also contributes to Carleton’s American Studies program. Professor Appleman’s recent research has focused on teaching college-level language and literature courses at the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Stillwater.
Her most recent book, Words No Bars Can Hold: Literacy Learning in Prison chronicles her teaching experiences in prison and argues for the importance of liberal arts education for the incarcerated.
Deborah Appleman is the Hollis L. Caswell Professor of Educational Studies and director of the Summer Writing Program at Carleton College. She also contributes to Carleton’s American Studies program. Professor Appleman’s recent research has focused on teaching college-level language and literature courses at the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Stillwater. Her most recent book, Words No Bars Can Hold: Literacy Learning in Prison chronicles her teaching experiences in prison and argues for the importance of liberal arts education for the incarcerated.
Professor Appleman taught high school English for nine years before receiving her doctorate from the University of Minnesota. She was also a visiting professor at Syracuse University and at the University of California, Berkeley. She works regularly with high school teachers and students, both nationally and internationally and is a frequent keynote speaker. Professor Appleman continues to teach creative writing and college level classes to the incarcerated. She is the author or co-author of more than a dozen books on literacy instruction, which can be found here.
Recent Blogs by Deborah Appleman
Saying Goodbye to Grandma in Chains
Eddie comes up to me after the midterm and says he too is afraid that he hadn’t done as well as he should have. Eddie is a tutor, a sweet and serious man in his late twenties, who works with other inmates to help them earn a GED. “You see, my grandma died this week,”
George Floyd Through the Eyes of a Prison Teacher
As I surveyed the cluttered, expanding, and deeply moving memorial site at 38th and Chicago, I tried to see that street corner and the murder of George Floyd and its aftermath through the eyes of the incarcerated men I am privileged to teach at two correction facilities in Minnesota. I knew that many of them
The Tragedy of George Floyd’s Death and its Devastating Aftermath
As I consider the tragedy of George Floyd’s death and its devastating aftermath, I keep thinking of the incarcerated writers, many of whom grew up in the Twin Cities and are heartbroken by recent events. Before the pandemic hit, I was scheduled to teach this spring for the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop, a remarkable non
Saying Goodbye to Grandma in Chains
Eddie comes up to me after the midterm and says he too is afraid that he hadn’t done as well as he should have. Eddie is a tutor, a sweet and serious man in his late twenties, who works with other inmates to help them earn a GED. “You see, my grandma died this week,”
George Floyd Through the Eyes of a Prison Teacher
As I surveyed the cluttered, expanding, and deeply moving memorial site at 38th and Chicago, I tried to see that street corner and the murder of George Floyd and its aftermath through the eyes of the incarcerated men I am privileged to teach at two correction facilities in Minnesota. I knew that many of them
Listen to Deborah Appleman on Superior Reads
Professor Appleman taught high school English for nine years before receiving her doctorate from the University of Minnesota. She was also a visiting professor at Syracuse University and at the University of California, Berkeley. She works regularly with high school teachers and students, both nationally and internationally and is a frequent keynote speaker. Professor Appleman continues to teach creative writing and college level classes to the incarcerated. She is the author or co-author of more than a dozen books on literacy instruction, which can be found here.