Event Calendar
A calendar of events focused on reimagining public safety, developing alternatives to police, anti-racism, and social justice.
These events are compiled from publicly available information and submissions, and are not associated with dontcallthepolice.com.
Please note! All events are listed at the time local to the organizer – please check time zones.
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Prison abolition issue: Listening party and reflective writing workshop
December 12, 2021 @ 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm PST
About this event
One of the basic goals of a prison is to isolate prisoners and cut their ties to the outside world. Yet prisoners have always found ways to build connections with creative and political communities outside of prisons, and raise their voices in the struggle for liberation.
In keeping with the long tradition of prisoner writing, in September 2021 Briarpatch Magazine, in collaboration with Free Lands Free Peoples and the Inreach Committee of AbolitionTO, published a special issue on the topic of prison abolition. It featured the writing, art, and poetry of people imprisoned across Turtle Island.
Please join us on Sunday December 12, 2021 from 3-5 p.m. ET as we collectively listen to the pre-recorded voices of some of these authors, either reading excerpts from their Briarpatch publications or speaking about writing while imprisoned. After listening to the audio recordings, workshop participants will be invited to write a response to a specific author, or a message of solidarity to all the authors. Briarpatch will then collect and mail these responses to authors. We hope to build concrete connections with prisoners and share with them the immense value and importance of their writing.
Speakers
The listening party will featuring recordings from Cory Charles Cardinal, C. Ojore McKinnon, Christophe Lewis, Tamina Hamid, Trenton Tompkins, Jessie Milo, and Anonymous.
Ann Hansen, urban guerilla, author, and former prisoner at the Kingston Prison for Women, will also speak about the history of women prisoners’ writing and its role in the abolitionist movement.
Accessibility information
Automated live transcription will be available, and all recordings will include subtitles. The first half of the event may be recorded and posted on Briarpatch’s social media, but the reflective writing workshop will not be recorded or posted.
This is a free event, but we will be accepting donations to the Toronto Prisoners’ Rights Project’s Prisoner Emergency Support Fund.
To submit your event, please send the event name, description, instructions for registration and/or attendance, the organizer’s name, and organizer’s website to: calendar@dontcallthepolice.com
