Today on our show we bring you another story by Corey Devon Arthur, an inmate at Otisville Correctional Facility in New York. This story is about the demon he battles in his head, which is literally a voice that tries to talk him into continuing the violence he learned on the street, and his attempt to become a better man.

We also have a special guest host. Sarah Holtz is a reporter and audio producer based in Oakland. Her work has aired on Houston Public Media, New Orleans Public Radio, and Northern California Public Media. She received training in audio and writing at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University.

Sarah Holtz volunteers with Empowerment Ave, an organization created by Emily Nonko and Rahsaan “New York” Thomas. Their mission is to normalize the inclusion of incarcerated artists and writers in mainstream venues. They assist incarcerated writers in getting their work published and compensated for, and contribute creatively to the abolition movement and liberation of incarcerated people.

Sarah is the person who sent us the story written by Corey Devon Arthur which we aired on Episode 120 and was titled, My Pen Uncovers the Real Me. 

Corey has served 25 years on a life sentence for robbery and murder. Corey is an artist and writer who has been published on Writing Class Radio and The Marshall Project.

Writing Class Radio shares stories by men and women on the inside because it is important to give everyone a voice. We all make mistakes, some worse than others, but we feel that everyone can change. And there’s no better way to initiate change than through writing and sharing stories. 

If you’d like to hear more stories from the inside, please listen to the prison series. During the 10-part series, we aired stories written and read (almost all) by the men and women incarcerated or formerly incarcerated. Andrea, Allison, and guest host, Xaire Vii, spoke about why the incarcerated need to be heard and how hearing their stories and getting to know the people society condemns can bring our broken society back together.

On this episode we mentioned Ear Hustle, a podcast featuring Rahsaan Thomas and the men in San Quentin Prison. 

Writing Class Radio is produced by Allison Langer, Andrea Askowitz and by Matt Cundill, Evan Surminski and Clare Mansell at the Sound Off Media Company. Theme music by Courtney Fox. 

 There’s more writing class on our website, writing class radio dot com: including essays to study, editing resources, video classes, writing retreats, and live online classes. Join our writing community by following us on Patreon. 

For $10/month Andrea will answer all your publishing questions. For $25/month you can join our First Draft weekly writers group. You have the option to join Tuesdays 12-1 ET or Wednesdays 6-7pm ET. Write to a prompt and share what you wrote. If you’re looking to take your writing to the next level, for $125/mth you’ll get 1st draft and 2nd Draft. Each week three people bring a second draft for feedback and brainstorming. Join the community that comes together for instruction, an excuse to write, and most importantly, the support from other writers. To learn more, go to www.Patreon.com/writingclassradio. 

A new episode will drop every other WEDNESDAY. 

There’s no better way to understand ourselves and each other, than by writing and sharing our stories. Everyone has a story. What’s yours?