We asked Don’t Shake the Spoon writers how they felt about being published. This is what they had to say…

This is the 4th and final part in a blog series surrounding DSTS. Read the rest below!

Tania Cepero Lopez is a co-editor for Don’t Shake the Spoon Volume 4. This is part 3 of a 4 part series of Blogs.

Gissell Del Castillo is a co-editor for Don’t Shake the Spoon Volume 4. This is part 2 of a 4 part series of Blogs.

Paul Feigenbaum is a co-editor for Don’t Shake the Spoon Volume 4. This is part 1 of a 4 part series of Blogs.

On October 7th, students performed at Avon Park’s first poetry slam, Barz Behind Bars. Here’s what they had to say about their experience.  

When I first approached the Everglades Correctional Institution in Miami, Florida, nervous couldn’t even begin to describe how I felt. Not knowing what to expect, every episode of “Law and Order” played in a compilation through my head. I mentally rehearsed how to introduce myself while reminding myself every five minutes, “incarcerated person, not inmate,” not knowing what to do with my hands.

As a young child, I remember going with my mom several times to visit my uncle in a prison somewhere in Georgia. I don’t remember much of anything about the facility. What I remember is my uncle being glad to see his sister and her two children. His face lit up when he saw us, and I felt his warmth and his love in what I would later realize was a cold and unforgiving place.

More than two decades ago, I was kept in solitary confinement for 480 days. It was brutal. I became disconnected from my mind. Poetry saved me. I was allotted a tiny pen no longer than my pinkie finger.

I was struck by how meaningful our conversations together had been. For those coming from the outside, there is always something new to learn about prison: yet another element of Kafka-esque absurdity is revealed as we get a glimpse into institutions that are so fervently kept from public view.