Free Minds Book Club & Writing Workshop

08/24/2026

August is Library Card Sign-Up Month, and our Reentry Apprenticeship members celebrated in the best way possible. 📚

On the first day of the apprenticeship, 15 Free Minds members came together for an incredible day of community, reflection, and new beginnings. They shared what has surprised them since coming home, responded to poetry together, and participated in an interview skills workshop.

And at the end of the day? Everyone got a DC Public Library card.

For members returning home after years of incarceration, a library card is more than access to books. It is access to resources, to community, to possibility.

Library Card Sign-Up Month is a reminder that libraries belong to everyone, and we are proud to make sure our members know that too.

08/19/2026

Black August is a month of remembrance, resistance, and poetry. This week we are sharing Crushed by the System by TG, a currently incarcerated Free Minds member whose poem speaks across generations, to those who came before, those who stand now, and those who will carry this work forward.

"You will not be crushed by the system."

08/14/2026

The National Religious Campaign Against Torture recently announced the winners of their inaugural Voices Beyond the Walls writing contest, which uplifts the lived experiences, resilience, and advocacy of individuals affected by solitary confinement. 📖✊

Join them for Healing Through the Arts: The Power of Expression During and Beyond Incarceration on Thursday, August 20 from 1:00 to 2:30pm ET on Zoom, presented by NRCAT. This free event features a panel discussion by people with experience at the intersection of the arts and carceral involvement, and includes readings by the contest winners.

Register for the free event here:

Join the National Religious Campaign Against Torture for a special Zoom event featuring a panel discussion among poets, advocates, art therapists, and solitary survivors on the power of creativity when healing from trauma. Then, hear the three winners of our Torture Awareness Month writing contest p...

08/09/2026

Happy National Book Lovers Day! 📖💛

Books mean something different to everyone. For Free Minds members, they are a tool for growth, a source of connection, and a window to a world beyond the walls.

Today we are sharing what books mean to some of our members in their own words.

What book has kept your mind free or made you feel seen? Share in the comments. 📚

07/31/2026

Before this summer ends, we wanted to share a poem that captures it perfectly. 📖

Last Summer by DW, a currently incarcerated Free Minds member, is a tender, lyrical love poem written from inside the walls, and it will stay with you.

Read the full poem and leave DW a comment at freemindsbookclub.org/poems. Your words go directly to the poet. ✍️

And before the summer is over, make sure you are part of the Free Minds community. Our summer newsletter drops in August with stories, poetry, and updates from our members. Subscribe here: https://freemindsbookclub.org/get-involved/join-our-email-list/

07/30/2026

Who are you? Who do you want to be? And what do you need to get there?

In June, author and DC native Nick Brooks brought these questions, and his blueprint of Passion, Purpose, and Proficiencies, to Free Minds members at the Youth Services Center. 📖

Nick calls it the Three P's: Passion (what do you love?), Purpose (what do you want to change?), and Proficiencies (what are you good at?). Answer those, he says, and you're on your way to the fourth P: Prosperity.

He talked openly about growing up in Northeast DC, the moments that shaped him, and how he went from teaching to writing his novel Promise Boys (now headed to Netflix) to co-writing the characters in Grand Theft Auto VI. 🎮

For our members, this was not just about meeting an author they admire. It was proof that their own stories matter, and that everyone in that room has a book inside of them.

After each session, Nick signed books for the young writers he met.

Thank you to Nick Brooks for showing up for our members with honesty, wisdom, and heart, and to DC Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services and Maya Angelou Schools & See Forever Foundation for their partnership in making this visit possible.

07/29/2026

What does real public safety look like in DC?

In Episode 4 of A More Perfect District from the ACLU of the District of Columbia, host Alicia Yass and Policy Counsel Peggy Ramin break down what real public safety looks like in DC, why over-relying on policing and incarceration is not working, and what a better path forward looks like.

Free Minds Poet Ambassador and Thrive Under 25 Strategy Chair James Carpenter joins to discuss why DC needs to support reentry programs, the importance of support services to the formerly incarcerated, and what matters most to this community.

"We not only are a literary organization, we also work with reentry."

And what makes it work?

"We don't even call it a program. It's like a Free Minds family. We meet every Wednesday on a Zoom call. Be over 200 people sometimes, and people share resources. Yeah, it's a family."

Free Minds was also highlighted in the ACLU of DC's new report, Building Safety Through Resources: A Better Path to Public Safety in DC, as a model reentry program doing exactly the kind of work DC needs more of.

Listen to the full episode:

When we have more policing and more incarceration, there's more risk of people's civil rights and liberties being impeded upon.

07/17/2026

Write Night was one for the books. 📖

Earlier this week, more than 100 community members gathered alongside 30 Free Minds Poet Ambassadors at the beautiful space created by St. Mark's Episcopal Church- Capitol Hill and their Incarceration Justice group, sharing the room with the Beauty Behind Bars exhibit featuring work by incarcerated and formerly incarcerated artists, including Free Minds members.

After hearing live poetry readings, we asked our community why we gather on the same page. Here is what they said:

We gather on the same page...
📖 To show that unity is in community
📖 To show people that we care
📖 To show everyone that we all are one
📖 To see the humanity in each other

That is what Write Night is. That is what this community makes possible. 🤍

Want to join us or bring Write Night to your own community? Learn more and sign up here: https://freemindsbookclub.org/get-involved/bring-free-minds-to-your-group/

07/17/2026

"they are trying to describe the same world
with different scars."

This powerful poem, Generations by DK, is featured in our latest issue of Free Minds Connect: Generations ✍️

Inside, you'll find poetry, reflections, and stories about connection, wisdom, and the ties that bind us across generations.

Take a moment to read and explore:

The Free Minds Connect is a bi-monthly magazine featuring book discussions, poetry, short essays, artwork, and profiles of Free Minds members, staff, and friends, which is sent to over 800…

07/14/2026

Join us in person for Write Night tonight. ✍️💛

You'll hear from Free Minds Poet Ambassadors, then read poems from members still behind the walls and write personal responses back. At Free Minds, volunteering can be as simple as showing up and sharing your words. And for our incarcerated members, those words can offer encouragement, connection, and creative fuel.

As Free Minds member Alex shared:
"The comments from our readers are beautiful. I take pleasure in knowing we’re connecting as human beings to people outside these walls. Thank you so much for those comments, they are like fuel for my writing."

📍 St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 301 A Street SE, Washington, DC
🗓️ Tuesday, July 14
🕖 7:00 – 8:30 PM
🎟️ Free and open to the public — RSVP to save your spot

Come write with us! RSVP here: https://freemindsbookclub.org/event/write-night-july-14/

We're grateful to St. Mark's Episcopal Church- Capitol Hill and its Incarceration Justice group for making this evening possible.

Free Minds is hosting an in-person Write Night on July 14th at St. Mark's Capitol Hill! You're invited to connect with incarcerated poets through a mutual exchange of creativity, inspiration, and hope.