Blog Posts for Judith Tannenbaum

Mother California

Judith Tannenbaum — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:52:41 -0800

Kenneth E. Hartman’s is the third book to come out this fall written by men doing time. I’ve written before about Dwayne Betts’ A Question of Freedom and Jarvis Masters’ That Bird Has My Wings, and now I want to share a few words about Mother California: A Story of Redemption Behind Bars by Kenneth E. Hartman. Hartman has done twenty-nine years in five California prisons. The years ...

Inside/Outside Envelope Project

Judith Tannenbaum — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:08:24 -0700

Phyllis Kornfeld – whose Cellblock Visions is a powerful and beautiful collection of art made by people in prison – has begun the Inside/Outside Envelope Project. As Phyllis describes: “Envelope art is a long-standing tradition in prison art. Beautiful envelopes sent to loved ones communicate a deep connection. The Inside/Outside Envelope Project is expanding that connection. Incarcerated ...

Dear President Obama

Judith Tannenbaum — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:49:51 -0700

Dear President Obama: There are so many ways in which I am deeply grateful that you are our president. I could write you a long ode with many stanzas of praise. Such an ode would be heartfelt, but also heartfelt is this note that raises my deep concerns about much of the Arne Duncan education policy, a policy you seem to whole-heartedly support. I write as someone who has been a community artist ...

"That Bird Has My Wings"

Judith Tannenbaum — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 15:51:55 -0700

That Bird Has My Wings: The Autobiography of an Innocent Man on Death Row is Jarvis Jay Masters’ second book, and it comes with endorsements by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Van Jones, author David Sheff, and many others. Although Masters writes of the crimes he’s committed, as well as those he’s innocent of though convicted – and although he writes some about his life on San Quentin’s Death ...

By Heart

Judith Tannenbaum — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:58:30 -0700

The two-person memoir Spoon Jackson and I have written will be out April, 2010. We're happy, and both working hard. You can read about By Heart: Poetry, Prison, and Two Lives here (and sign up to be notified when the book comes out)

A Question of Freedom

Judith Tannenbaum — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 11:45:40 -0700

R. Dwayne Betts – “a good student from a lower-middle-class family” – carjacked a man, went to prison, and has written a book about the experience. Betts was sixteen when he committed the crime, but tried and convicted as an adult; he served eight years in Virginia prisons. He’s been out for four years now and in that time has earned a BA, founded a book club for young men ...

I Bring What I Love

Judith Tannenbaum — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 09:20:05 -0700

I love this new movie about Youssou N’Dour, the amazing Senegalese musician. I love all the concert footage, and also love just looking at the streets of Dakar, the colors, the clothes, the faces, the gestures, the courtyards where households gather, the look on Youssou’s grandmother face, the street art, Youssou leaning to talk with his son at the mosque. I appreciate what I learn about the ...

Home from Heaven

Judith Tannenbaum — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 03:58:46 -0700

Just home from residency at Hedgebrook on Whidbey Island overlooking Puget Sound. Six women writers are each given a cabin to live and work in, as well as meals. Applications for February through November 2010 must be postmarked by September 24, 2009. During this stay I finished work on By Heart: Poetry, Prison, and Two Lives, the two-person memoir I've been writing with former San Quentin ...

The Class

Judith Tannenbaum — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 22:04:09 -0700

I’m glad no one took my blood pressure as I watched “The Class,” for it would have been soaring. The movie – which takes place almost completely inside a high school on the edge of Paris – is great (as nearly all reviewers agree). So it wasn’t the quality of the film that nearly gave me a stroke.I’d done two site visits that day, watching WritersCorps teaching artists share poetry ...

"Commercial for Poverty"

Judith Tannenbaum — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 07:51:57 -0800

I'm with David Denby, who wrote in The New Yorker about "Slumdog Millionaire:" "... every surface and texture shine glamorously, including the piles of garbage that Jamal and his brother live amongst. Boyle has created what looks like a jumpy, hyper-edited commercial for poverty -- he uses the squalor and violence touristically, as an aspect of the fabulous."