Step 1: Donate to Sameer here (sugg. donation $40)

Step 2: Register for “Writing Beyond Walls” here

In this workshopm we will discuss some foundational questions and issues that people commonly encounter when initiating correspondence with contemporary political prisoners. What might we write in a first letter?

How might we navigate the power dynamics that prisons create between those on the inside and the outside? What tensions exist between intimacy and instrumentality when it comes to prisoner correspondence? How might we navigate communication under intense surveillance and censorship without overly censoring ourselves?

During the workshop and to anchor the conversation, participants will also watch “What These Walls Won’t Hold,” a documentary that chronicles the organizing and relationships of people who came together beyond the separations created by incarceration, in response to the COVID-19 outbreak at San Quentin State Prison.

Sharon Luk was born and raised in the San Francisco bay area. Before pursuing an academic career, she worked mainly in fields of independent media and youth and community development, with training in domestic violence counseling and non-discursive techniques in abuse recovery. Prof. Luk is currently an associate professor and Tier II Canada Research Chair in Geographies of Racialization at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, BC. She is author of The Life of Paper: Letters and a Poetics of Living Beyond Captivity (University of California Press, 2018) and numerous articles.

Adamu Chan is an award-winning filmmaker, writer, and community organizer from the Bay Area whose artistry is deeply rooted in relationships & lived experience. His films invite viewers into conversations about social justice and the transformative power of community. He received the Docs in Action Film Fund from Working Films and directed What These Walls Won’t Hold, a personal exploration of resistance and solidarity during his incarceration.