"When I read the poems I felt strong, bright and righteous. I had to stand representing for my homeboys. It gave me strength to stand right there.
I had to spit it like they would. They would want someone to hear them crying out for help, to express how they feel inside of them.
Writing helps you out with those feelings that you’re dealing
with. I write so I can be heard. I want to be like Tupac. Before I die
I want my name to be known by everyone."
— Decario, Free Minds Member on reading at Hear Us Out! 2007 Poetry
Reading
Events
Save the Date: Hear Us Out! 2009 - Date Changed
Mark your calendars for the seventh annual Free Minds Poetry Reading to be held on October 6th at the 6th & I Synagogue. This year's reading promises to be the most empowering, lyrical and inspirational yet! More details coming soon.
Free Minds Raises New Friends
Supporters old and new gathered at the elegant Marvin Bar and Bistro
in Northwest DC on March 25th, to learn more about the work of Free Minds
Book Club & Writing Workshop. Guests loved the delicious soul food
appetizers generously donated by Marvin, but more than anything they enjoyed
the chance to meet Free Minds members themselves.
Above: Free Minds member, Antwon Holcomb performs
an audience favorite "Daddy's a Man Now." To
read this poem and those of other Free Minds members, click. Photos
by Vanessa Segars.
Left:
Drew Williams shares his success story with the Marvin
crowd. At the age of 17, Drew was incarcerated on robbery charges. Now
22, Drew has his GED and recently graduated from barber school. He has
a full-time job cutting hair for a large and loyal clientele at a shop
in NE DC. Drew plans to go to college and study business, and eventually
open his own barbershop.
They came to spread the word about Free Minds and also
to share their poems and stories, which were met with great acclaim.
Join our mailing list to learn more about events like this one!
Local Author Visits Free Minds Book Club
On Friday, February 27, 2009, guest author DaWayne Williams came to speak to the incarcerated youth of the Free Minds Book Club. The author of Reputations Fade Away, a true chronicle of his young adulthood on the streets of South East DC, Mr. Williams delivered an impassioned address to the young men. As he described his progression from violent drug dealer to accomplished author, Mr. Williams continually returned to one point: the power of your dreams.
“Your
dream does not start the day you get out of here,” he declared to
14 young teens in orange jumpsuits. “Your dream starts the day you
decide to believe in it.” Mr. Williams told the story of his life,
from a difficult early childhood, to first shooting a gun at age 13, to
the day he saw the movie Antwone Fisher and was inspired to write his
own life story. “I learned how to write by writing this book,”
he told the group. “Nobody helped me.”
L.W., 17, said that Reputations Fade Away was the first book he had ever read from front to back. “It was very cool,” he said, to meet the author face-to-face.
Book Club members asked Mr. Williams questions about the craft of writing. He stressed the importance of details such as powerful character names, as well as the benefits of consistent journaling.
He encouraged the youth of the Book Club to follow their creative dreams by getting a mentor, “hanging around people that do what you wanna do,” and not letting anyone tell you that you can’t achieve. “You also have to read and write,” he continued. “For you to be a writer you have to read books. You have to know your feelings, and you have to take it and write it in your own words.”
“Writing is good for your mind, “ he concluded, “and remember to protect your dream.”
At the end of the session, Book Club members wrote down their own personal goals and then took the opportunity to share them and speak individually with Mr. Williams.