Music That Mends

David Coogan is the editor of “Writing Our Way Out” written by former jail inmates, exploring the conditions, traps and turning points on their paths to imprisonment, as well as the redemptive power of writing. Jazz musician Antonio Garcia composed a musical piece “Open Minds: Music that Mends,” that reflects the book’s themes of social justice, healing, self-reflection and redemption. Music performed by the VCU Commonwealth Singers, directed by Dr. Erin Freeman. And: Josh Iddings looks at the history of writings from prison and how prison literature can humanize the image of the prisoner. Later in the show: Conversations about prison tend to focus on incarcerated men in urban areas. Bonnie Zare takes us inside a rural Wyoming women’s prison to understand the place that some women call “Camp Cupcake.”