Imagining Worlds: An Anthology of Plays by Artists from Colorado's Prisons

by DU PAI, Ashley Hamilton (Editor), Clare Hammoor (Editor)

The work of worlding new worlds is challenging. Creating art in a way that imagines new ways in thinking and being is visionary. Doing so while incarcerated during a pandemic is unbelievably brave. Yet, that is exactly what everyone in this anthology, and the class "Imagining Reading and Writing Plays" that inspired it, has done. Through an incredible collaboration with the Colorado Department of Corrections, over 200 incarcerated students of the University of Denver's Prison Arts Initiative--from ten correctional facilities across the state of Colorado--have been worlding new worlds. The DU Prison Arts Initiative (DU PAI) generates creative and collaborative learning experiences that enrich the lives of people who are incarcerated and shift the conversation about prison. As part of DU’s commitment to the public good, our programming opens dialogue between incarcerated people and their communities. We empower individuals to see themselves as leaders capable of creating meaningful change, both inside prison systems and well beyond.

266 pages, Paperback

Published December 16, 2020

Reviews

[Lillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

When one thinks of a prison one usually thinks of the actual physical prison with bars and guards. What if that isn't the only prison in any person's life? Some of the plays within this book are set in the actual physical prison. Some are set in the metaphorical prisons that shape many peoples lives (family trauma, addiction, self-hatred). Read this with an open mind and with compassion in your heart. And, then go watch "Julius Caesar" performed at the Donmar Warehouse, which used actual female prisoners for the actors.