Amy Friedman - Dream Catchers: POPS the Club Anthology

PRAISE FOR DREAM CATCHERS POPS the Club has provided a critical space for young people affected directly by mass incarceration to voice their hurts, their emptiness, their awareness, and their poetic expressions. Im awed by the unity of thought, feelings, and words that this writing forges against the odds. Such writing is initiatory, engaging the mythic imagination inherent in us all and birthing the new and unique the way all community-based initiations should do. These anthologies can be examples of the transformation possible in all wounds, making them wombs of new life, energy, and dreams instead of tombs of the dead things we tend to carry when we dont let them go. I honor the work of Amy Friedman and everyone at POPS. Luis J.

Rodriguez, poet, novelist, journalist, and 2014 Los Angeles Poet Laureate; author of contemporary Chicano literature, notably Always Running; winner of the Carl Sandburg Literary Award; and cofounder of Ta Chucha Press My father was in prison throughout my teens and I so often felt alone. I cannot imagine how different the experience might have been if Id had a community like that offered by POPS the Club. I wish I could take Dream Catchers and deliver it to my younger self, and with it all the solace, triumph, wisdom, and truth found in its pages. But I need it now too. These are the voices of the more than two million young people in this country with incarcerated parentsfull of heartache, hope, insight, and compassion, and we all should listen. Tyler Wetherall, author of No Way Home Nothing on earth tugs on my heartstrings more than kids being hurt, and I know how critical it is to listen to the kids who know all about injustice.

The POPS the Clubs writers and artists represented in the POPS anthologies have much to teach anyone who is interested in social justice. Their stories, poetry, and artwork overflow with the experiences, wisdom, and insights of those whose lives have been touched by incarceration. They are not to be missed! Scott Budnick, founder of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition and One Community Films and producer of Just Mercy Parental and familial incarceration has destabilized families and communities throughout the United States. Our children, this countrys most precious commodity, have been affected more than any group. Many of them suffer in silence, unable to articulate their pain, their suffering, and oftentimes their shame. This collection of brilliance has provided those directly impacted with a mechanism to amplify their voices so that their stories can be heard and understood.

This work will educate, positively influence, and empower every reader. It serves as a testament to the resilience, power, and intelligence of every single contributor. We all should be grateful for what these beautiful souls have created for our benefit. Tony Lewis Jr., activist and author of Slugg As a woman who grew up with an incarcerated parent, I know how challenging being a teenager with a loved one in prison can be. POPS the Club gives high schoolers a voice, offering them opportunities to talk about it, write about it, and feel part of an ever-growing community. This collection of memories, thoughts, and ambitions represents the toll that everyone touched by the system knows.

Through their pages, the writers and artists have found a rare form of empowerment. Deanna M. Paul, journalist The diverse and powerful voices in Dream Catchers bear witness to the pain, heartache, and triumphs of everyday high schoolers touched by incarceration. In an age where the news is rife with stories of family separation and children being locked in cages, these poems, stories, and drawings have never been more relevantor urgent. Laurie Sandell, author of The Impostors Daughter and Truth and ConsequencesDream Catchers is a must-read for directly impacted individuals and their allies. By bringing the voices of the youth to the forefront, POPS the Club gives readers unprecedented access to the experience of familial incarceration by the experts themselvesdirectly impacted individuals.

Whitney Hollins, PhD, educator, advocate, and author of Annas Test For twenty years Ive transformed concepts to creations, helping dozens of authors find success in the marketplace, many becoming New York Times bestselling authors. I know what it takes to develop a compelling message, and I know powerful books and important messages when I read them. The POPS the Club anthologies are monumental works of vital, inspiring stories we all need to read. Kristin Loberg, collaborator on Grain Brain, Hype, and The Switch I cant think of a better way to convey the heartbreak and hardships of having an incarcerated family member than the POPS anthologies. Ive seen many people (including myself) brought to tears by the gorgeous, honest poetry, essays, and artwork in Dream Catchers. It shines a brilliant light into a part of our country that too often is left in shadow.

Claire LaZebnik, author of Epic Fail, Things I Should Have Known, and The Smart One and the Pretty One and coauthor with Dr. Lynn Koegel of Overcoming Autism What is most impressive about the POPS anthologies is the overwhelming power of the truth and sincerity contained within their pages. In Dream Catchers, each story is heartfelt, honest, open, and fearless. The teenaged authors have voluntarily bared their souls in order that they might lighten their own psychic burden and maybe, just maybe, invent a better life for themselves. Short stories, poems, song lyrics, and artworks will last as long as these books exist, and the young contributors have made themselves immortal. Such an impressive accomplishment, and something that should be supported by reading Dream Catchers and all the POPS anthologies.

Damien Belliveau, motion picture editor, author, and creator of The PartBlack Project Through writing and art, discussion and community, POPS heals the stigma and shame so often felt by youth whose lives have been impacted by prison. They are the silent victims of our mass incarceration crisis. POPS should be in every high school in America, and its books, like Dream Catchers, should be in every classroom. Christina McDowell, author of After Perfect and The Cave Dwellers and coproducer of A Survivors Guide to PrisonDream Catchers is a masterpiece of light-handed art: stories and perspectives from the children who pay the price of a growing carceral state. Reading this work forces us to see the human deficit of torn families and spirals of harm that our worship of nonrestorative procedural justice propagates. Above all, the bittersweet richness comes from the hope and resilience present on the page.

Without shame, the young writers in these pages use their skill and clarity to find both solace for themselves and salvation for all of us. Robert Pollock, teaching artist and manager of the Prison and Justice Writing Program, PEN America, and illustrator of Sing, Sing, MidnightDream Catchers is a unique experiencea collection of poems, essays, and artwork that intimately connect us to a population of teenagers who are navigating life in a very particular way. These teens share their work with brave authenticity and a maturity well beyond their years. The work is powerful, heartbreaking, inspiring, and sobering. A must-read for anyone who truly cares to know the full impact of our prison system. Jessica Tuck, actor, producer, and founder and executive producer of Spark Off Rose During the 1980s and 90s, one of my most talented creative writing students lived in constant fear that her father would be sent back to jail merely for walking down a block where drugs were being sold.

She and many other students lived with the shame that someone they loved had been incarcerated. Had POPS existed in those days, my students wouldnt have had to feel so afraid or ashamed, because they would have been in a community of people who could sympathize with them and give them practical advice. And they might have fought despair by helping others with similar problems and by expressing their own feelings in poems and stories that would make them proud. Everyone will be inspired by the powerful work in