Post-Gotham Writer’s Workshop

I’m back from New York. The query letter workshop was very informative and I have a better understanding of not only what my story is about but I know where my story is going. I also understand that the book and the query letter are like a marriage and have to complement each other. The workshop did have two agents and I suppose all of us attendees had aspirations of landing one of them. I was certainly hoping my book would be taken, but none of us got a deal (that I know of). 

What struck out the most from the workshop was the importance of a clear understanding of the book’s message, the  book’s purpose, and the book’s audience. It’s not only who I am writing to, but how important the age of the reader is to stay on focus with the narrative. Most important–though, and I don’t remember if it was mentioned in the conference– is knowing what the reader will get out of reading my book. What can the reader expect to gain? These kinds of questions help me focus on my book's scenes so that I don’t get lost or go on a tangent. What am I trying to accomplish by writing a memoir?  Am I looking to shine just for the sake of shining or do I have a message that can help others, or do I have a message that might help society see a universal truth in a different light?

There is humanity everywhere in society, even within the prison environment. It’s not the message I’m pitching but it’s the message I’m hoping readers will see throughout my writing. I’m hoping that I can show and bring the reader into the experience of humanity, even among the worst of us in society–easier said than done, but easier now that I know how important it is to set the stage from the get go.

The protagonist of my memoir is navigating a world of HYPER-toxic-masculine world when he was never born prepared for the task. The only way my protagonist can survive the journey is if he finds enough humanity in himself and in his surroundings–he must find humanity in the unlikeliest of places (a maximum security penitentiary) and he must find humanity in the unlikeliest of people (Lifers and hard-core gangsters.)

Also, in my quest to make the transition from trucking to advocacy for prison reform, I did go out and put myself out   on a limb. I have read in front of a classroom before and I’ve done some poetry reading in front of writers,  but I have never performed in front of a crowd who competed for money. I went to a poetry slam, not so much for the money, but because I wanted to see if I could speak in front of an audience with authority and conviction.

You see, if my voice and my mission are to materialize into sustainability, then I must be comfortable speaking in front of a crowd. I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t nervous or that I was insecure. I read from my phone so as not to put pressure on myself memorizing the poem and it went well. I confronted my fears of the stage and I delivered the poem knowing deep down that the message is about helping others and about bringing awareness about the realities of the carceral experience.

If my motives are altruistic and my message is authentic, then I believe that I can get in front of a crowd. If my motives are individualistic and I’m looking for some sort of validation, then I get in my head and not only will my message be diluted, but my nerves are going to betray me.

I also went to a poetry workshop in Miami and I’m tweaking the poem to participate in another poetry slam here in Miami. I’m working towards visibility, not for me, me, me (like it’s so easy to do) but because we as a society can benefit by prison reform.

Gotham Writer’s Workshop

This was actually February 24, 2024

I’m in New York City for the Gotham non-fiction writer’s conference and I’ll be pitching two agents to see about getting published. I’m at the tail end of my first draft and I want to test the waters. My expectations are that I learn from the event and that I begin making myself visible, which I must if I am to make the transition from trucking to advocacy for prison reform.

I attended an open mic slam for artists last night and I mustered up the courage to get up on stage and read one of my poems. I was the first one up, my first time up to an event like this. Talk about initiation by fire, but I did well, and people responded positively. There’s no question I was the odd man out, not only because of my age—at sixty-three I was thirty or forty years older than some of the performers—but because these young poets are passionate and put their hearts into telling a story. But I put myself out there in front of an audience and conquered my fears. I may not be as passionate as these spoken word artists to memorize a long poem and put every emotion out there on stage, but I’m passionate about helping young people facing risk factors that may get them in trouble with the law.

I’ll be pitching my query letter later this afternoon and I want to take some of that passion about advocating for prison reform with me for when I meet the agents; and I feel that last night, having gotten in front of a hundred people to read a poem, has boosted my confidence to speak up and be visible. I do have a story of grit and resilience, and I do have a voice that might help my community.