writing class radio

173: Birds Will Be Birds


Listen Later

Today on our show, we bring you a story by Christopher Blackwell. Chris is 42 and serving a 45-year prison sentence in Washington. Chris’s story came to us through writer and Chris’s mentor, Jamie Beth Cohen.

This episode is about taking a small moment and bringing big meaning. Through details and emotion, Chris tells us so much about himself and his surroundings. When birds nest on the windowsill of the prison, all the men gather round. Their usual differences melt away. When the birds fly away, our narrator understands their lust for freedom.

Christopher Blackwell co-founded Look 2 Justice, an organization that provides civic education to system-impacted communities and actively works to pass sentence and policy reform legislation. He is currently writing a book about solitary confinement. His writing has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Huffington Post, and many other outlets. He is a contributing writer at Jewish Currents, a contributing editor at The Appeal, and works closely with the prison writing program Empowerment Avenue. You can follow him on X @chriswblackwell.

Chris’s story was originally published in The Appeal, which is a nonprofit news organization that envisions a world in which systems of support and care, not punishment, create public safety. 

Writing Class Radio is hosted by Allison Langer and Andrea Askowitz. Audio production by Matt Cundill, Evan Surminski, Chloe Emond-Lane, and Aiden Glassey at the Sound Off Media Company. Theme music is by Justina Shandler.

There’s more writing class on our website including stories we study, editing resources, video classes, writing retreats, and live online classes. Join our writing community by following us on Patreon

If you want to write with us every week, you can join our First Draft weekly writers groups. You have the option to join Allison on Tuesdays 12-1 ET and/or Mondays with Eduardo Winck 8-9 pm ET. You’ll write to a prompt and share what you wrote. If you’re a business owner, community activist, group that needs healing, entrepreneur, or scientist and you want to help your team write better, check out all the classes we offer on our website, writingclassradio.com.

Join the community that comes together for instruction, an excuse to write, and the support from other writers. To learn more, go to www.Patreon.com/writingclassradio. Or sign up HERE for First Draft for a FREE Zoom link.

A new episode will drop every other WEDNESDAY. 

There’s no better way to understand ourselves and each other, than by writing and sharing our stories. Everyone has a story. What’s yours?


...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

writing class radioBy andrea askowitz and allison langer

  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6

4.6

249 ratings


More shows like writing class radio

View all
On Being with Krista Tippett by On Being Studios

On Being with Krista Tippett

10,207 Listeners

Fresh Air by NPR

Fresh Air

38,049 Listeners

The Moth by The Moth

The Moth

27,281 Listeners

Design Matters with Debbie Millman by Design Matters Media

Design Matters with Debbie Millman

1,221 Listeners

To The Best Of Our Knowledge by Wisconsin Public Radio

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

939 Listeners

Good Life Project by Jonathan Fields / Acast

Good Life Project

3,312 Listeners

Happier with Gretchen Rubin by Gretchen Rubin / The Onward Project

Happier with Gretchen Rubin

12,943 Listeners

Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

Hidden Brain

43,879 Listeners

The New Yorker Radio Hour by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

The New Yorker Radio Hour

6,699 Listeners

10% Happier with Dan Harris by 10% Happier

10% Happier with Dan Harris

12,628 Listeners

Happier in Hollywood by The Onward Project

Happier in Hollywood

2,447 Listeners

The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos by Pushkin Industries

The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos

14,414 Listeners

The Shit No One Tells You About Writing by Bianca Marais, Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra

The Shit No One Tells You About Writing

766 Listeners

We Can Do Hard Things by Glennon Doyle and Audacy

We Can Do Hard Things

41,488 Listeners

Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus by Lemonada Media

Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus

10,537 Listeners