WRITING WORKSHOPS ACROSS OREGON | ONLINE JOURNAL | PUBLIC READINGS

As a child I was taught to respect them
as I entered their domain with this chant: Guelo yan Guela
Dispensa yo sa hu nesista bai usa y tano mu
Yanggen matto hao gi tano hu sina hu na setbi y tano hu
“Male Ancestor and Female Ancestor,
Excuse me because I need to use your land or take from it.
If you are ever on my land you are welcome to anything on it.”
Jimmy Kashi, Tao Tao Mona

Building on the anthology Prisons Have A Long Memory, Danny Wilson and Tracy Schlapp have created a program that assembles writing from people who are incarcerated in Oregon. An editorial board at Oregon State Penitentiary works with the two mentors to solicit writing, select, and edit it. Schlapp and Wilson produce on-site workshops at prisons around Oregon to encourage submissions, along with a monthly newsletter for interested writers. The collection is published online at the ponyXpress, a platform that welcomes subscribers — sections are released weekly. PonyXpress writers present their writing within their prison communities. This work is also distributed inside through intra-prison communication channels and in 2024 will be added to Edovo, a free educational platform available on prison tablets.

The PonyXpress has received generous support from the Mervyn Seldon Charitable Arts Trust, Salem Foundation, Roundhouse Foundation, Oregon Cultural Trust, The Marie Lamfrom Foundation, Spirit Mountain Community Fund, Fred W Fields Foundation and Sir James and Lady McDonald Fund of Oregon Community Foundation, and the Oregon Arts Commission. Subscribe for free! Paid subscriptions fund the program directly.