We [PEN America] are writing to cordially invite you to subscribe and listen to Works of Justice (WOJ), a multimedia series produced by PEN America’s Prison and Justice Writing Program that spotlights key figures, writers, and artists who are critically reshaping the conversation on incarceration, advocacy, and justice in the United States. Past features include Derecka Purnell on unlearning policing, Mahogany L. Browne on witnessing through poetry, Keeda J. Haynes on second chance culture, Dorothy E. Roberts on ending the child welfare system, and Hugh Ryan on carceral archives and queer history.

Given The Carceral Studies Consortium support of rigorous research, pedagogy, and community engagement in relation to punishment and incarceration, we thought you would be interested in our recent Works of Justice newsletter, which includes a new podcast episode and introduces a new column. For this month’s podcast, Malcolm Tariq, senior manager of editorial projects for PEN America’s Prison and Justice Writing, interviews Damien M. Sojoyner about his recent book, Joy and Pain: A Story on Black Life and Liberation in Five Albums (University of California Press, 2022). Sojoyner speaks about his approach to ethnography, the ethics of constructing someone else’s narratives, and the history of resistance in gang culture. This month, we are also excited to share “Unsealed,” a new column delving deep into the mail we received daily from incarcerated writers across the country, and the challenges of communicating primarily through written letters.

You can subscribe here to receive the monthly Works of Justice newsletter. You can subscribe to and rate the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify.

Lastly, it would be helpful if you could share the newsletter with your networks and other interested parties. Be sure to tag PEN America (@PENamerica) if posting on Instagram or Twitter.