Why Spoon Jackson’s Beyond Bars is important to men today.
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A man makes a mistake and receives a punishment. During his punishment, the man discovers a way to better himself that he shares with others. A man trying to better himself and those around him, now that sounds like something The Good Men Project should be all about.
Now, what if I told you the mistake was murder, the punishment was life without parole (a different form of death sentence,) and the way to better himself was poetry? To me that REALLY sounds like The Good Men Project, and that is one reason why I decided to help present Spoon Jackson’s Beyond Bars.
Spoon Jackson is a man who has been experiencing a process of social isolation as a form of punishment. He has been under this extreme deprivation for almost four decades. The daily struggle of a person who is sentenced to life without parole is something that no one can imagine. It is even hard for the person who experiences it to understand.
Through the Arts in Corrections Program, Spoon and other prisoners were able to dive into creativity, the imagination, and the real mind in order to reform themselves. The program also brought in outside participants and allowed a rare chance to interact on a social level, something the L.W.O.P. prisoner is almost never allowed.
As I have been compiling this series, I have noticed the great transforming and reforming nature of art through Spoon’s words. His diary entries and poetic insights of prison, nature, and realness not only demonstrate a universal truth about the human condition in us all, but also the true testament that a man can reform himself if only given the right direction. The series itself is proof that there is a transformative power to art.
Giving men the right direction to reform themselves… that sounds like The Good Men Project too, doesn’t it? Are we here to say, “I am good. I always was, and you should be too,” or are we here to say, “we are all problematic. Let’s figure out how to be better men together?” Even though Spoon is physically isolated from us, we still have access through his artful words, to learn some powerful lessons about taking charge of our own betterment under any conditions. His influence does not end there. He has also helped support and encourage the Pain of Prisons Program with his words.
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Please do take some time to read through this series. With each piece Spoon is trying to help us see into the life and mind of extreme social isolation as a form of punishment. Spoon also shows us how patience, inspiration, and realness can be found. Whether you agree or disagree about life without parole as a form of punishment is of little concern in light of the mind-expanding lessons that we can gain from reading these precision vignettes.
Beyond Bars: Where I Am From Beyond Bars: Silence Beyond Bars: One Soul Beyond Bars: Goodbye Music Beyond Bars: Remains Beyond Bars: True Media Beyond Bars: The Universal is Personal Beyond Bars: After Poetry is Nothing Beyond Bars: Birds Chase Away Blues Beyond Bars: Social Isolation Beyond Bars: Karma Dept. Beyond Bars: Routine Beyond Bars: Poet’s Journey Beyond Bars: Heat and Hope Beyond Bars: Next Life Love Beyond Bars: Cold Frustration Beyond Bars: Eggs to Hatch Beyond Bars: Exercise and Hate Beyond Bars: Of Race and Beasts Beyond Bars: Dreams and Memory Beyond Bars: Flight Beyond Bars: Musical Empowerment Beyond Bars: No Goodbye Beyond Bars: Inside Always Beyond Bars: Worry and Bridges Beyond Bars: Better on a Boulder Want the best of The Good Men Project posts sent to you by email? Join our mailing list here. Photo: amira_a/Flickr