Professor. Writer. Speaker. Prison Teacher.
At 7:30 AM on a still cold March morning, I wait inside the entrance of an urban public high school, with Patrick, a ninth-grade English teacher on one side of me and a security guard on the other. We are waiting for the arrival of Eli, my formerly incarcerated student, who has agreed to spend […]
Walking the Tightrope Between Jail and College Read More »
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
George Floyd Through the Eyes of a Prison Teacher Read More »
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
The Tragedy of George Floyd’s Death and its Devastating Aftermath Read More »
Can we separate the art from the artist, the writer from his book? I confess. I still teach Sherman Alexie’s books.
I want to ignore everything I learn about Sherman Alexie. Am I a hypocrite? Read More »