“I am from islands remote and untouched
from history sung
from genealogies passed down through generations.
I am from a place of no written word.”

–From Origin by Moana

Voices from Inside is an organization based in Western Massachusetts that brings writing workshops to women in prison and formerly incarcerated women. Moana, who participated in the program and now teaches the workshops, came to StoryCorps to record a conversation with her daughter. A keeper of journals her whole life, Moana wrote her first poem in prison and found it to be “an avenue to speak deeply about yourself which doesn’t expose too much of yourself.”

_{Moana and daughter Jillian after making her recording in Greenfield, MA}

Several states away in Tampa, Florida, poet Lizz Straight hosts a weekly radio show called “Poetry Is . . .” Lizz learned that her voice had been reaching a dedicated listenership at a nearby state prison when she received an invitation from the inmates to perform her poetry. At her first performance, she stood alone at the microphone, looking out at the 1,400 prisoners gathered in the yard to listen who appeared like a “sea of orange.” Their attention and enthusiasm helped inspire Lizz to organize an annual tour to multiple facilities around Florida with a group of poets. These experiences have reminded her of the deep connection between word and empowerment: “A lot of people firmly believe that what we speak out into the world comes to fruition. Poets are powerful people in the world . . . we tell the stories . . .”

_{Lance Newman and Lizz Straight at the MobileBooth in Tampa, FL}