Prof. Wendy Hinshaw to Deliver Lecture: Literacy Locked Up

Professor Wendy Hinshaw, Director of Writing Programs, will deliver a public lecture “‘It’s Safer to Read’: Literacy Locked Up” at the Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach on Sunday, September 11 from 1:00pm-2:00pm and Sunday, September 25 from 2:30pm-3:30pm.

As part of a celebration of Banned Books Week, Dr. Wendy Hinshaw will discuss the practice of book banning and the importance of intellectual freedom in prison libraries.

The “freedom to read” is a privilege not only threatened by censorship but also by state and federal restrictions that ban access to many kinds of reading materials in prisons. When books are arbitrarily banned and access to materials for writing is precarious, words become more precious, and writers and readers learn to read over, around and in spite of obstacles. This presentation responds to Banned Books Week by focusing on the readers who have been removed (banned) from society and the barriers to reading and writing experienced by people in prison. Writing that reaches across carceral boundaries, including selections from Florida’s first Prison Poet Laureate, shows what prison literacy cultures can teach us all.

For more information, see the event listing or call 561-868-7701.