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A world without prisons, what would it look like?

Many have come to believe that prisons do more harm than good.  Some even argue that there should be no more prisons.  But many of those involved in this discussion have never been incarcerated.   We want to know what a world without prisons could be like and we want to start by asking people who have the closest experience with prisons.

If you could change the system how would you change it?  If you have ideas about what a world without prisons could be like, please send your thoughts to

so in about two weeks, I’m going to be doing a guest set on the “Manion Companion” radio show with Corinna + Riley. This will be my first on-air appearance as part of the process of getting a radio show. I’m excited, and I’ve already started thinking about what I wanted to play:

• “Demystification” by Zounds from “The Curse of Zounds” [Track 3/3:45]
• “Look at What the Light Did Now” by Little Wings from “Light Green Leaves”
• Roy Orbison
• Ballast
• “I’m Going to be Strong” by Gene Pitney
• ??? by This Is My Fist from “I Don’t Want To Startle You But They Are Going To Kill Most Of Us”
• Pinhead Gunpowder
• somethething by Chumbawamba from “English Rebel Songs”
• “Bad Mouth” by Fugazi from “13 songs”

Powerbook G4 (11.3)

• 400 MHz PowerPC G4
• 640 MB SDRAM
• Airport Card
• OS X 10.3.9
• 10 GB HD
• 17″ Screen

$200

I wrote this down one day, from an interview in The Sun, or something, and I’ve been carrying it along on a scrap of paper.  I can’t even remember why I thought it was relavent:

Cooper: Yet Bush has a “green” ranch.

Hightower: That’s because it’s become a status symbol.  Cheney’s mansion in Washington, DC was retrofitted for people here in Austin and elsewhere who build these green homes.  It’s like a toy to them, the SUV of homes. They can say, “look at what my house does.  I’ve got a rainwater collection system.”  But if you ask, “Shouldn’t everybody have a system like that?”  They’ll say, “sure, go out and buy yourself one,” rather than creating the means for widespread energy and resource conservation.

Oh yeah, I remember what made me think about that little scrap of paper.  Ryan and I had a long conversation on a drive during tour questioning things like the ability to make things like  “widespread energy and resource conservation” outside of the giant of capitalism, and if that’s possible, given our reality, if its even a dire social priority.  Ultimately, I still feel like people can, do, and should make things that benefit themselves and others instead of just getting our heffer halves, but those things, that we can build that way, so often turn out to be misguided or inconsequential.

Sweet Hickory Art and Music presents “It Is What It Is” Increment Number 1

Opening Reception: Friday, May 12, 2006 at Sweet Hickory Art and Music (317 E. 3rd St. in downtown Bloomington). 7-10pm. Featuring refreshments and a musical performance by Leah Yeppi.

Sweet Hickory is proud to present the first increment of “It Is What It Is”, a group show featuring a diverse body of work by six young Bloomington-based artists. The first increment features work by Matte Cathcart, Chiara Galimberti, Jeremy Kennedy, Sherri Miller, Peter Shear, and Ryan Woods. Though these artists have a widely varying approach to their art and reflect a range of formal training, all make work that is bold and engaging, and that reflects an emerging culture of creativity in Bloomington. Defying the rigid conventions of the formal art community and reflecting a mobile, vibrant personal vision, all these artists make artwork that defies simple classification. In the end, “It Is What It Is!” This show opens Friday, May 12 and will continue until June 8th.

Matte Cathcart is a long-time Bloomington resident and visionary artist who makes bright, playful paintings that seem to document the people and objects that pass through his life. In addition to his work as an artist, Matte plays in a number of Bloomington-based bands including the pop-punk band, The Door-Keys.

Chiara Galimberti is a student at Indiana University in the BFA painting program. Her paintings and drawings reflect a more traditional approach than some of the other artists in this show in a way that is exciting and refreshing.

Jeremy Kennedy is a local musician and artist who performs with the band Puppy vs. Dyslexia, his solo experimental project DJ Sony Playstation, and collaborates to make intricate, small run CD-R releases with the FMSMP recording collective. His paintings, drawings, and mixed media work combine elements of popular culture, fantasy, humor, and personal narrative into pieces that are disorienting and provacative.

Sherri Miller is one of the co-proprieters of Sweet Hickory and has ventured in and out of the fine arts from a background in industrial design. Her design background is apparent in her stark, highly graphic portraits, but her work also reflects her natural inclination towards invention and experimentation with process and material.

Peter Shear is a 26 year old bloomington resident who works mostly in drawings and acrylic painting. His works tend to be quite simple and quick, yet contain a great amount of narrative in their simplicity. More of his work can be found at http://www.myspace.com/petershear.

Ryan Woods (BFA Art Academy of Cincinnati) is the other co-proprietor of Sweet Hickory. He makes paintings that use a wide variety of materials, from oil paint to shellac, spackle, and other building materials. The complexity and richness of material and the resulting texture is paralleled in the imagery of his paintings. Provacative and perhaps a bit unnerving, his paintings often evoke the intersection of personal and cultural mythologies, of childhood and decay.

Sweet Hickory is a new addition to the Bloomington arts community and serves to provide a venue for exhibiting the work of contemporary artists, independent musical and theatrical performance, the sale of reasonably-priced punk, hardcore, and other independent records and original, handmade, clothing and art pieces. The store is located at 317 E. 3rd St., near the corner of 3rd and Grant in downtown Bloomington. For more information about the store, the “It Is What It Is” group show, or other upcoming events, contact 812.369.5284 or sweethickory@gmail.com.

• convert forms to pdf or scribus
• “world without prisons”
• fix/update website theme
• prison issues blog news

Click to access lyrics_booklet-up.pdf

yo geoff. write a post on pagestoprisoners.org about students donating their print quota to pages. link to files. mary is uploading pdfs. link to directions about printing double sided. corinna said that if you fill out a short survey at the information commons, you can get 50 extra prints added to your quota. send an e-mail with the link to the post to midwestpagestoprisoners@lists.riseup.net. Also cc Corinna.

Q: What types of books do you need donated?  Where can I send donations?
A:

Thanks for writing and for your interest and support.  The books that we need the most are:

* Dictionaries and Thesauri
* Books on learning spanish, Spanish-language books, Spanish to English dictionaries
* Books on African-American studies/issues
* GED study books
* Books on Art/Drawing

As many prisons have restrictions on hardcover books, paperback books are preferred,  but we certainly won’t turn away hardcover books.

You can send book donations to

The Midwest Pages to Prisoners Project
c/o Boxcar Books and Community Center
310A S Washington St.
Bloomington, IN 47401

Q: I want to help out Midwest Pages to Prisoners, but I don’t live in the Midwest.  How can I help?
A:

You may wish to save on postage and help out more locally by sending the books to a project that’s closer geographically to you.  http://www.freewebs.com/books4prisoners/resourceslinks.htm is a good, up-to-date list of active prison books programs.  Unfortunately, there don’t seem to be any active groups listed in New Jersey, though there are some active ones in New York and Pennsylvania.

Also, starting a prison books program yourself isn’t terribly hard.  A Philadelphia-based prison books project has compiled a handbook about starting prison books projects.  You can find information about this publication at http://www.booksthroughbars.org/content/Materials2_3.htm.

Finally, there are a number of ways you can engage in prison issues beyond just sending books. Many jails or prisons have opportunities for people to volunteer with educational programs.  You could try calling a jail or prison in your community and asking for the person in charge of education for information on such opportunities.  This may take some persistence on your part to get involved in this way, but it is ultimately possible.

Also, if you are comfortable working with faith-based organizations, many religiously-affiliated groups engage in prison issues.  In particular, more progressive religious groups like the Unitarian Universalist Church or The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) work with some pretty interesting programs.  A minister with the UU church here in Bloomington works with a program that audiorecords incarcerated parents reading books and giving messages to their children.

Also, you may want to look into groups working with victim-offender reconciliation or restorative justice programs in your community.  Such groups attempt to create a dialogue between those who have been convicted of crimes and those affected by those crimes and is an interesting alternative to the traditional models of the prison system.

Finally, there are a number of groups that deal more generally with prisoners rights, supporting prisoners, and supporting the families of prisoners.  Many of these groups don’t seem to have a huge public profile, but if you keep abreast of the news, particularly independent media, you can get a good idea of who is working on prison issues in your community.