The Sentences after Sentencing: South Florida’s Incarcerated Students Share Their Stories

Behind the walls of Florida’s prisons lies a wealth of untold stories, rich with potential. 

Thanks to Exchange for Change, a South Florida-based nonprofit that believes education is a human right, these voices are finding a platform. With the collaboration of Florida Atlantic University (FAU) students and English Professor Wendy Hinshaw, the program’s latest achievement is Don’t Shake the Spoon: A Journal of Prison Writing, which offers a moving collection of work that sheds light on the lived experiences of incarcerated individuals.

FAU hosted a launch party last month for their most recent publication, Volume 5, which aims to lift some of the silence surrounding incarceration. “Nobody is voiceless; they are silenced,” said Ayşe Papatya Bucak, an FAU English professor and writer, during the event on Nov. 21. Along with Hinshaw, Bucak works with Exchange for Change and organized the event. 

Identifying as a student with a voice rather than just an incarcerated individual gives purpose, motivation and a life-altering experience, the organizers noted. As a result, student writers are able to have something to work towards during their served time, gaining an education, and a feeling of accomplishment after being published. “Our organization’s top priority is providing high-quality, college-level writing courses to our students on the inside,” Exchange for Change says on its website.

Award-winning writer and journalist Steven Hale joined the event, and read from his recently published book, Death Row Welcomes You: Visiting Hours in the Shadow of the Execution Chamber.

Hale’s book is based on his experience covering death row executions in Tennessee. After spending nights in the execution chamber and the death row petition gallery as a journalist, he chronicled the community of people that sit on death row.

“I was moved listening to those readings because I think it's such a radical act to the rehabilitation of people who are incarcerated,” said Hale of the work by writers involved in Exchange for Change. During Hale’s visit to Florida Atlantic, he also went with a group of students who work with Exchange for Change to visit the Homestead Correctional Institution to work and speak with those enrolled in this program.

The journals are available by donation to the organization, and they contain stories and poems that speak for people who cannot. “Don't Shake the Spoon” includes literature that is different from other stories and books because it provides a window into the reality of people behind bars.

Michael Anguille, a former Exchange for Change student and now FAU graduate, was also in the audience and did a reading from the magazine. His work was published in the second volume, and he remains very passionate about the work this program has been able to do, and what it has done for him in particular.

“This program is a shining light of hope in otherwise a very dark place,” said Anguille. 

He spoke about how some of the men and women who decided to take this program on had little to no experience in education or writing, and the idea of publication was something completely new and exciting to them.

“It provides them an outlet that's totally positive and constructive and eventually lends itself to rehabilitation,” he added.

Exchange for Change holds millions of memorable moments and stories that would have never been possible without the dedication of their team and their drive to make a difference in these students' lives. This program created connections, awareness, and opportunities, both for those who worked with students and those who were students writing their way through their time in prison. 

“You have made these people human,” said Saundra Garner, a woman from the audience who lives in the Boca area and spoke up after hearing some of the stories at the reading. “Their story never really ended.”

Many Floridians have little knowledge of this program, but it can be moving to hear stories of how transformative it has been for participants since its founding just a decade ago by Kathie Klarreich, a former journalist.

“The fact that we are able to offer writing programs to students for publication is a really big deal, and the few education programs [for incarcerated people] are usually very limited,” said Hinshaw, who is chair of the board of Exchange for Change.

The organization’s mission is to make sure more incarcerated students have access to their writing courses not just because education has a right, but research shows that it also reduces the recidivism rate. The organization quotes research that inmates who participate in programs such as theirs have a 43% lower chance of reoffending compared to those who do not participate.

 “We believe in the value of every voice, and we give our students an opportunity to express themselves without the fear of being stigmatized. When everyone has the ability to listen and be heard, strong and safe communities are formed,” Exchange for Change says on its website. “With a pen and paper, students can become agents of social change across different communities in ways they may otherwise have never encountered.”