Free at Last: Poetry from Behind Bars

Ryan Browne, professor of poetry and literature, walks into the building on the first day of class to greet his students as he has done so many times before. He discusses poetry and helps his students put their thoughts and emotions on paper.

But this time it’s different.

He’s not in a fine arts building on the University of Alabama campus—he’s in a prison, and he’s teaching inmates.

Browne is part of Alabama Prison Arts + Education Project, an organization that arose from the benevolent mind of Kyes Stevens at Auburn University. APAEP is an evolving organization fueled by a dedicated group of artists, writers and scholars who believe that knowledge and creative development can change someone’s life, according to the organization’s Web site.

“These courses offer the incarcerated men and women artists opportunities to learn and practice their crafts, as well as affirm the fact that they do have something of value to offer themselves and others,” Browne explained.

Alabama’s prisons exceed their maximum capacities and are in dire need for more funding, which creates the opposite of an ideal place to harvest one’s creative abilities. However, the prisoners Browne teaches are enthusiastic to have the opportunity.

“If these students can write in the condition they write in and with the materials they have, then I have no excuse in my personal practice of poetry,” Browne said.

Ryan Browne is originally from Colorado and did his undergraduate studies at Creighton University in Nebraska. It was in a 300-level creative writing course that he realized his passion and talent for writing poetry.

He entered the Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing at the University of Alabama in 2005 and was introduced to Kyes Stevens through a mutual connection. Stevens shared her APAEP stories with Browne and discussed the structure of the program. Because of her contagious enthusiasm for the project, Browne immediately sought involvement in the organization.

Browne has taught one American literature and five poetry courses since 2007 at the St. Clair, Draper, Donaldson and Bibb County correctional facilities. Each class meets once a week for 2 hours and last 12 weeks. The literature class had between 20 and 35 students, while the poetry classes consisted of eight to 20 students.

Browne’s selfless endeavors to use his talents to impact and enhance the lives of others have undoubtedly been a success—both personally and for his students.

“Many of the students we work with are coming from backgrounds where the only message they hear is that they are worthless,” Browne said. “Comments from APAEP instructors like ‘Great sketch!’ or ‘The metaphor in this poem is fantastic!’ run counter, in some instances, to life-long implicit and explicit messages asserting the opposite.”

Browne is a talented writer who has dedicated a number of years to the cultivation of his art. So who would have thought he could learn anything from the prisoners he works with? Browne admits he often feels as though he gets as much, if not more, out of the classes as the prisoners do.

“When I bring in a poem for discussion—poems I love and have read many times—I always learn something new about the poem or poetry in general,” Browne said. “The students consider the poetry we read and the poetry they compose with an intensity that is often unmatched by myself. They serve as great role models for me in approaching the practice of my craft.”

Obviously, working with individuals incarcerated for various crimes may not be the easiest of jobs. Many people would be petrified to walk willingly into a prison and teach poetry, and Ryan Browne was no different in the beginning.

“I was terrified before my first class. The things we see on TV about prison, the stereotypes, the conditions—all of these were preying on my imagination,” Browne said. “I still get nervous before the first class. But once I get into the classroom and meet the students, those fears evaporate.”

Browne graduated from the MFA program in May 2009. He teaches composition and literature courses at UA and plans to continue his teaching at the collegiate level and in prisons. Someday he hopes to follow in the footsteps of Kyes and found and direct a prison arts program somewhere.

Until then, he continues to stay actively involved in APAEP, which is quite possibly one of the most admirable, yet exhausting, of pursuits. But then again, when it comes to enriching lives and enjoying personal growth and fulfillment through an organization, it just doesn’t get much better than that.

by Rachel Underwood