Words Between the Bars (from "Best of BackStory: Nathan's Picks")

For centuries, people have used letters, memoirs, and other personal writings to document the hardships of incarceration. Seth Michelson has led poetry workshops at prisons for years, and recently worked with a group of unaccompanied, undocumented immigrant youth at a maximum-security juvenile detention center. He says the words of incarcerated poets and writers throughout history echo the experience of immigrant children behind bars today.