Writing workshops offer a refuge in Oregon’s prisons
For Matt Reyes, writing has helped him make sense of his past after he was convicted of murder in 2018. In one piece he wrote for the ponyXpress literary journal, titled “I Am a Survivor,” he describes his family’s generational trauma and reflects on his use of violence to protect his loved ones.
“I thought I only had two options, to ‘protect’ my family or be a ‘coward.’ I can now see another option. I don’t have to take another person’s life,” writes Mr. Reyes, who is serving a life sentence at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem.
The ponyXpress features poetry and prose from writers throughout Oregon’s correctional system. The journal was launched in April 2023 by two volunteers, Tracy Schlapp and Daniel Wilson. Ms. Schlapp leads writing workshops for the journal and is usually surprised by the turnout. Incarcerated writers “keep showing up,” she says.
In 2004, Enrique Bautista was serving time at an isolated prison in rural Oregon and wanted to discuss his dreams with his neighbor in the next cell. Others on the tier would hear them if they spoke out loud, so the pair began writing – and then passing sheaves of paper through small holes in their cell doors with string pulled from elastic bands of underwear.
