Today Professor Michele Tarter spoke to us about her work with her “wisewomen,” inmates in a women’s maximum security prison in Clinton, NJ. Dr. Tarter brought a sample of the women’s memoirs, called The Pen and the Penitentiary; the writing was memorable and heart-wrenching. The art work was evocative as was the presentation, which inspired all of us to think about how important education is to lowered recidivism. Hope can make all the difference for these women; the writing seemed profound to us and very readable. The program is supported by the Sunshine Lady Foundation and we will help in some small way by selling friendship bracelets to raise money for books for the women who write with Dr. Tarter.
Following the presentation we played “Prison Architect,” a design program to give us practice in designing a prison while balancing the need for security and the personal needs of the residents. While the design was difficult, we were intrigued by the challenge of juggling so many concerns while maximizing our resources and managing a rebellious population.
