Where I'm From

Prison Writes students reading at BronxConnect on August 16th was an inspiration to all in attendance. Thank you to everyone at BronxConnect for your dedication to keeping our youth out of prison, particularly Tara Brown-Arnell, Ariany Polo and Tyza Perdomo, who went over the top to make this event sensational. (Check out that cake!)

Thanks to our special guests Rafael Carrera, who is working to interrupt the prison industrial complex with JustLeadershipUSA, thanks to Justin Corney who shared a preview of his memoir about his overcoming not just prison, but what brought him there. Thank you to Ibrahim Siddiq and Kahlil Koromantee for your support and guidance in these workshops.

Thank you most of all to our young poets who showed honesty and courage in sharing their stories. In case you missed it , here's a sample of their work:

Where I'm From by Humberto Diaz

The Bronx, the type of place where you need to

expect the unexpected

A place where

having to watch your back is a hobby

A place where if you slip

jus know they gon catch you

The kind of place where

even "heroes with a badge" are scared of, The Bronx

Where all and everything is good but also the type of place

where nothing good stays good.

Not the cleanest city, not the most safe

Where I'm from?

Where my people from, where your people from

dont' matter

Culture, religion, race

What puts us together

What helps us learn from one another

but you can't learn and love not only my people

or your people

if you don't have respect

Respect yourself to show respect for other

culture, religion, race

or other beautiful thing

and we are all connected.