INSTRUCTOR: KB Brookins
TIME: Wednesday, July 9, 6-9 pm CST/CDT
PRICE: Free, though intended for the formerly incarcerated, their friends and family (all are welcome)
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LOCATION: Writespace, 1907 Sabine Street, #125, Houston, TX 77007 (map).
LEVEL: All levels
CAP: 15
+VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY BELOW+
Did you know that Texas taxpayers spend over $1 billion on keeping Texans in jail? Did you know, also, that more than 70% of jail populations in Texas are people who haven’t been found guilty of a crime, and you can do something about it? In this workshop, we will learn and write about Texas jails — with a specific focus on erasure poetry and opinion editorials using excerpts from the ACLU of Texas’ groundbreaking jail brief. By the end of the session, participants will have at least two pieces that speak truth to power, and serve as a tool to talk about the criminal (in)justice system.
This workshop is free and open to the public, though it is made with currently and formerly incarcerated writers in mind. All participants in this workshop have the opportunity to be considered for two paid performance and writing opportunities with the ACLU of Texas.
KB Brookins is a Black queer and trans writer, educator, and cultural worker from Texas. KB’s poetry collection Freedom House (2023) won the American Library Association Barbara Gittings Literature Award and the Texas Institute of Letters Award for Best First Book of Poetry. KB’s memoir Pretty (2024) won the Great Lakes Colleges Association New Writers Award and the Dorothy Allison/Felice Picano Emerging Writer Award. They are currently the ACLU of Texas Artist-in-Residence and a Black Mountain Institute Shearing Fellow at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Follow KB online at @earthtokb.
+VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY+
KB Brookins will be collecting and recording stories from members of the public in Downtown Houston at the following times. No need to commit to more than 2 hours, though more is welcome. If you would like to participate in documenting cerceral injustice and how it effects lives and families please contact programming@writespacehouston.org
Saturday, June 28: outside the jail recording stories & telling people about the upcoming writespace workshop from 11am-6pm (lunch break 2-3pm)
Monday, June 30: outside the courthouse recording stories & telling people about the upcoming writespace workshop from 10:30am-1pm & 3:30-5pm (lunch break 1-2pm)
Tuesday, July 1: outside the courthouse recording stories & telling people about the upcoming writespace workshop from 10:30am-4:30pm (lunch break 1-2pm)