St. Paul’s Episcopal Church is pleased to present an encore performance of The Prison Story Project: On The Row, Friday, January 13, 2017.
On The Row is a staged reading of the stories of 9 men on Arkansas’ Death Row collected over six months this past year through in-person creative writing guidance on the Row and follow-up by US Mail.
The proceeds from this staged reading benefits Who Decides, Inc. which was created by Arkansas Death Row Inmate, Kenneth Reams, a participant in the Prison Story Project. Kenneth uses “the unrestricted power of art as a vehicle to help spark meaningful dialog around the death penalty issue that continues to divide many Americans who struggle with the notion of equity, the opinions of justice and the thoughts of forgiveness.”
From the solitary confinement of his death row cell over the past 20 years, Kenneth has created a 501(c)3 for Who Decides, Inc., organized a Board of Directors, and is currently touring his art through Europe. Kenneth’s goal for Who Decides, Inc. is to build a national museum on Capital Punishment and to use art to support, aid, and advance education in the history of the death penalty in the United States.
There will be art and other works by Death Row inmates on display with a reception hosted by The St. Spatula Guild beginning at 7:00pm. The staged reading will be presented at 7:30pm. A panel discussion will follow the staged reading.
The Panel Discussion following the staged reading will include the following panelists:
Geffrey Davis – awarding winning poet and Professor in the MFA program at the UofA;
Furonda Brasfield – Director, Arkansas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty;
Matt Henriksen – poet and Creative Writing Director for On The Row;
Donna Parks – Board Member, Who Decides, Inc.;
Calvin Porter – former Arkansas Death Row inmate
The Prison Story Project strongly encourages those who have access to Netflix to watch the Ava DuVernay’s documentary, 13th, an incendiary documentary about race and mass incarceration, named after the 13th Constitutional Amendment which states: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
Watch if you can and bring your thoughts, comments, questions and concerns as part of the panel discussion.
The event is free and open to the public. A donation of at least $10 is strongly suggested. The content is not suitable for children under 14 and child care will be available and provided by St. Paul’s. Reservations are not necessary.
Music by Kelly Mulholland of Still On The Hill.
For more information call Kathy McGregor, Project Director, 479-871-4875