My friend and fellow writer Kathryn Patterson drew my attention to this story today, written in one of her classes for prisoners: "Nature for the Nature-Deprived" was written by Texas inmate Samuel Daugherty and submitted to the PEN American Center's 2010 Prison-Writing Contest, where it earned an Honorable Mention. An excerpt:
"Our world is concrete, steel, and red brick, and we must take nature where we can find it. Getting the chance to grow a plant, see the sky or water, or wiggle one’s toes in the grass, are special occurrences. The lengths we will go for our own slice of nature are unusual, indeed. One fellow I know in the hoe squad jumps in the water and goes swimming any time they lead him near. He could get shot for that, attempted escape. I’ve seen people do some strange things for their slice."
Take a look, and see what you think.
--MD
Photo credit: Bruce Barone
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