Brothers In Pen Six Cubic Feet

Foreword by Junot Diaz. This anthology emerges from the Creative Writing class of San Quentin State Prison. The subtitle "Six Cubic Feet" refers to the amount of space each prisoner is allotted for personal property. The work presented here attests, in a variety of voices, to the ways that stories can transcend even the severe, constricted enclosure of prison. Contributors include: Cole Bienek, Charles "Talib" Brooks, Kenneth R. Brydon, N. T. "Noble" Butler, Micheal "Yahya" Cooke, Arnulfo T. Garcia, Andrew Gazzeny, Richard F. Gilliam, Ivan Skrblinski (a.k.a. Juan Haines), Michael R. Harris, Keoghan O'Donnell, JulianGlenn Padgett, Paul Stauffer, Watani Stiner, Aly Tamboura, Keshun Tate (a.k.a. Daleadamown Abu Muhsin), Troy Williams, Danny York. Edited by Zoe Mullery.

This book is a collection of the work read aloud by the Wednesday Night Creative Writing Class, or "Brothers in Pen," at San Quentin State Prison on July 13, 2013. Each writer selected a five-minute excerpt to read to an audience gathered for this annual public event. As always, the stories were compelling, intense, funny and challenging and the day reverberated for a long time after it was through. This book is a keepsake of that day and a way of sharing a taste of the work being done in this class. (For an experience of full-length stories from these writers, check out the anthologies available at brothersinpen.wordpress.com.)

A memoir reveals the struggles of a southern boy as he attempts to overcome his greatest obstacle in lifehis stuttering. Henry Sherman Christmas observed a man trying to do what most people do so easily, however, he was having little success. He was sixty five years old and the mans disability brought back all the memories of his youth, from his preschool days, trying to stay under the radar and under the bed, until loading his families old Ford sedan, in 1958, and heading to California. It involves the torment of an abusive but loving father, old Pa, and the protection of his mother, Ma, who would have given her life to defend her children. Its the mixed up world of cruelty and love that is so tightly woven they seem to appear as one. In this poignant memoir he shares a candid and heartfelt glimpse into the life of a child who stutters. It entails surviving the cruelty of his teacher in the first, second, and third grade, Mister, who though his disability was caused by his laziness and the neglect of his parents. It captures the caring side of Miss Jenkins, his teacher in the fourth grade, who taught him how to conquer his disability. Protected by his brother, Cone, and tormented by Billy, the relentless bully who would not leave him alone. Loved, and loved back, by his best friend Bo, a young black boy. He was born a poor sharecroppers son in 1945, in Arkansas. Hes a story-teller, like his father. Reflections of A Boy Named Christmas, is the inspiring story of a boy who just wants to overcome his greatest obstacle in life-and through determination, perseverance, and the love of others, eventually manages to do just that.