KITE:

A. A NOTE PASSED FROM AN INMATE TO AN INMATE IN ANOTHER CELL OR TO A GUARD

B. UNDERGROUND WRITING’S AUDIO ZINE FEATURING STUDENT WRITING

Jen Bradbury, UW Teaching Writer, shares student writing from What No One Ever Tells You.

1. My Cell -Victor
2. I Won’t Front -J.S.
3. I Am Not What You Think I Am -Luciean
4. Nascar Dialogue -Josh
5. Survival -M.
6. We Sit Here Together -Students and Teaching Writers, in a circle, one line each

Underground Writing: a literature-based creative writing program serving migrant, incarcerated, recovery, and other at-need communities in northern Washington through literacy and personal transformation.

Yesica joins Matt and Alvin in the park on a sunny day. She shares new work and updates us on her journey. Matt gives updates on workshops, events, and amplifying voices.

LINKS OF INTEREST:

Podcast Review: Underground Writing

Dear America chapbook

The Change - Book Pipeline

Marilyn Montufar

Jacob Lawrence Gallery

Claudia Castro Luna

Letters to a Young Inmate

The War and Peace of Tim O'Brien

Underground Writing: a literature-based creative writing program serving migrant, incarcerated, recovery, and other at-need communities in northern Washington through literacy and personal transformation.

We’re still here. Matt and Alvin read excerpts from DEAR AMERICA, the newest collection of student writing, packaged as our latest chapbook. They check in on the state of… everything, having made it into the new year. Matt gives updates on writing workshops and amplifying voices.

LINKS OF INTEREST:

DEAR AMERICA CHAPBOOK

THE CHANGE - BOOK PIPELINE

MARILYN MONTUFAR

CLAUDIA CASTRO LUNA

LETTERS TO A YOUNG INMATE

Underground Writing: a literature-based creative writing program serving migrant, incarcerated, recovery, and other at-risk communities in northern Washington through literacy and personal transformation.

KITE:

A. A NOTE PASSED FROM AN INMATE TO AN INMATE IN ANOTHER CELL OR TO A GUARD

B. UNDERGROUND WRITING’S AUDIO ZINE FEATURING STUDENT WRITING

Matt shares student writing from the e-workshops at the Skagit County Community Justice Center site.

1. Finding Hope (excerpt) - Garrett
   
2. Helping - C.
   
3. Seven Aphorisms - Michael
   
4. I Need You to Unlock Heaven's Door - Kyle
   
5. Being locked up - Leland
   
6. Fulfillment of Last Laugh - Joshua
   
7. My Answer - Brian
   

Underground Writing: a literature-based creative writing program serving migrant, incarcerated, recovery, and other at-risk communities in northern Washington through literacy and personal transformation.

It’s been something—this year of 2020: the pandemic, the quarantine, the killing of George Floyd and the ensuing protests, the wildfires currently occurring up and down the west coast, the looming November election . . . It’s been a year of great challenges, and a year of hope for true and lasting change.  How will this year—and how will we—be remembered?  In this episode, Matt and Alvin read pieces circling the theme of remembrance, written before and during the Covid-19 pandemic.  Additionally, they share a summary overview of the situation for Underground Writing, as well as program updates, forthcoming projects, and great news about a just-announced grant.

LINKS OF INTEREST:

'Last Will and Testament' – Sherman Alexie 

'No Many of Them, It's True' – Gregory Orr (part of the “The World Has Need of You” collection)

'Orpheus and Eurydice: A Lyric Sequence' – Gregory Orr

'Poetry as Survival' – Gregory Orr

'Orpheus, Eurydice, Hermes' - Rainer Maria Rilke (translated by Steven Mitchell)

Hope in These Times:  e-deliverable writing worksheet

Underground Writing’s active writing workshops:

• Mount Vernon Migrant Leaders Club in the Mount Vernon School District
• Skagit County Community Justice Center
• Skagit County Juvenile Detention
• Skagit Valley Recovery Site (hosted by Brigid Collins)
• YMCA Oasis Daylight Center

The Change list of suggested books 

• Long Way Down - Jason Reynolds
• I'm Still Here: Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness - Austin Channing Brown
• The Vintage Hughes - Langston Hughes
• Invisible Man - Ralph Ellison
• The Winter of Our Discontent - John Steinbeck

Letters to a Young Inmate is in the home stretch, launching later 2020

Academy of American Poets

Community of American Magazines and Presses

National Book Foundation

COVID 19 pandemic

PNW wildfire smoke

Underground Writing: a literature-based creative writing program serving migrant, incarcerated, recovery, and other at-risk communities in northern Washington through literacy and personal transformation.

To say that the Coronavirus has changed things is an understatement. The world is in a state of forced improvisation. Things have been quite different for us, too, during the quarantine. In this episode, Matt provides a summary overview of the situation for Underground Writing, program updates and adaptations, and shares new student writing created in response to the current COVID-19 era.

LINKS OF INTEREST:

The Decameron – Giovanni Boccaccio

David Budbill

Lucille Clifton

Underground Writing News & Photos

What No One Ever Tells You

Underground Writing: a literature-based creative writing program serving migrant, incarcerated, recovery, and other at-risk communities in northern Washington through literacy and personal transformation.

BEFORE any stay-at-home orders were in effect, Elizabeth Riley joined Matt and Alvin in the studio to talk about her research project, the high school classroom vs leading a creative writing workshop with UW, and how she navigated a love of reading/writing into a career. Elizabeth is a graduate student at Gardner-Webb University, researching the effect/outcome of Underground Writing’s workshops on the individual level.

“Club Icarus” is a poem by Matthew W. Miller that was brought in to UW writing workshops at the Skagit County Community Justice Center.
Elizabeth Riley, local high school teacher and grad student, joins Matt and Alvin in the studio to explore the myth of Icarus.

LINKS OF INTEREST:

• Hadestown
  
• Mythology by Edith Hamilton
  
• Myth of Icarus
  
• Club Icarus by Matthew W. Miller
  

Underground Writing: a literature-based creative writing program serving migrant, incarcerated, recovery, and other at-risk communities in northern Washington through literacy and personal transformation.

Note: As you know, friends, our program is focused on providing creative writing workshops that promote writing, reading, self-discovery, and voice amplification in a variety of community settings.  Because of the current health threats presented by the coronavirus to our students and the Underground Writing family of workers and volunteers, we are suspending all workshop activity for the time being.  In doing so, we are following county, state, and national mandates for precautionary measures.  A variety of Underground Writing projects and administrative functions will continue via independent tasks and meetings conducted via e-mail and video conference.  We will keep you updated as the days and weeks progress.  Thank you for your interest and impact on our students and the Underground Writing community.  Keep listening.  Keep healthy and safe.

KITE:

A. A NOTE PASSED FROM AN INMATE TO AN INMATE IN ANOTHER CELL OR TO A GUARD

B. UNDERGROUND WRITING’S AUDIO ZINE FEATURING STUDENT WRITING

Susanne Antonetta, UW Teaching Writer and editor of the Bellingham Review, shares student writing from the workshops at Skagit County Community Justice Center.

1. I Have to Swallow the Time by C
   
2. Ode to My Socks by Robin
   
3. I Have Been Known by Alison
   
4. I Have Been Known by Hannah
   
5. I Have Been Known by anonymous
   
6. Dear ICE by Adriana
   
7. Dear System by Robert
   
8. I Have Been Known by Marcus
   
9. I Have Been Known by Patrick
   

Underground Writing: a literature-based creative writing program serving migrant, incarcerated, recovery, and other at-risk communities in northern Washington through literacy and personal transformation.

We’re back for the first podcast of 2020. Matt and Alvin revisit the numbers from 2019 and give you a heads up of what’s planned for 2020, so mark your calendars.

Thanks to the Rick Epting Foundation for the Arts and ArtsWA for supporting our efforts.

Talk About Me, by Yesica Solano is available now

Upcoming Events:

Dear America chapbook
To be published in early 2020

Finding Home: A Foster Youth Story, produced by UW Teaching Writer Laurie Parker
Thursday, March 12, 2020 at the Lincoln Theatre

Migrant Leaders Club reading
Saturday, April 18, 2020 at Lopez Book Shop on Lopez Island

Hidden Truth, by the Migrant Leaders Club, produced by UW Teaching Writer Jennifer Morison Hendrix
Thursday, April 23, 2020 at the Lincoln Theatre

Letters to a Young Inmate initiative
May 2020

FilmVerse screening
Thursday, May 21, 2020 at the Lincoln Theatre

When people ask, "What's Underground Writing?" the quick answer is that we're a creative writing program for at-risk communities. One of the follow up questions we sometimes receive: "How does it all work financially?" We think this is a great year-end question! Matt and Alvin discuss these aspects of the organization, and invite listeners to partner with Underground Writing so as to continue and help sustain its transformative impact.

Partner with Underground Writing

Underground Writing: a literature-based creative writing program serving migrant, incarcerated, recovery, and other at-risk communities in northern Washington through literacy and personal transformation.