Announcing the Second Volume of FREEDOM COLLECTIVE: Poems from the UCSP Creative Writing Workshop
The Center for the Study of Women|Barbra Streisand Center and the University of California Sentencing Project (UCSP) are proud to announce the release of the second volume of FREEDOM COLLECTIVE: Poems from the UCSP Creative Writing Workshop, a deeply moving collection of poetry written by incarcerated women at the California Institution for Women (CIW).
Created as part of UCSP’s ongoing efforts to amplify the voices of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals, this zine emerges from a transformative writing workshop where participants explore healing, resilience, and self-expression through poetry. Supported by a $2 million Mellon Foundation grant, UCSP continues to foster interdisciplinary research, advocacy, and creative practice within and beyond prison walls.
This newest volume of FREEDOM COLLECTIVE reflects the healing and transformative impact of creative writing. Through poetry, workshop participants found an outlet for processing trauma, expressing buried emotions, and reclaiming their voices. Their writing spans love, politics, grief, and joy—offering raw, honest, and often beautiful insights into their lived experiences. The workshop became a space of freedom and unity, where women could explore their inner lives without judgment, push past personal boundaries, and grow as writers and as a community.
The women of the workshop reflect in the zine’s introduction:
“Through this class we learned ways to express experiences and feelings that we don’t talk about. Writing poetry is a way to release emotions and stress. Creative writing gives us a voice and allows us an outlet for thoughts.”
They write not only to be heard, but to heal—to make meaning out of the past and to imagine futures shaped by creativity, solidarity, and self-expression. The zine is a moving testament to the idea that there is no wrong way to write, and that in sharing our stories, we find strength, peace, and connection.
