Editing Creative writing (section)

== In prisons ==
In the late 1960s, American prisons began implementing creative writing programs due to the prisoner rights movement that stemmed from events such as the [[Attica Prison riot]].<ref name="Sage Publications">{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/56608161|title=Encyclopedia of prisons & correctional facilities|date=2005|publisher=Sage Publications|others=Bosworth, Mary.|isbn=0-7619-2731-X|location=Thousand Oaks, Calif.|oclc=56608161}}</ref> These creative writing programs, like other art programs, aim to provide education, structure, and a creative outlet to encourage rehabilitation of prisoners. These programs' continuation relies heavily on volunteers and outside financial support from sources such as authors and activist groups.<ref name="Sage Publications"/>

The Poets Playwrights Essayists Editors and Novelists, known as [[PEN America|PEN]], were among the most significant contributors to creative writing programs in America. In 1971, PEN established the Prison Writing Committee to implement and advocate for creative writing programs in prisons throughout the U.S. The PEN Writing Committee improved [[prison libraries]], inspired volunteer writers to teach prisoners, persuaded authors to host workshops, and founded an annual literary competition for prisoners. Workshops and classes help prisoners build self-esteem, make healthy social connections, and learn new skills, which can ease [[prisoner reentry]] (reoffending).<ref name="Sage Publications"/>

Creative writing programs offered in juvenile correction facilities have also proved beneficial. In Alabama, Writing Our Stories began in 1997 as an anti-violence initiative to encourage positive self-expression among incarcerated youths. The program found that participants gained confidence, the ability to empathize and see their peers in a more positive light, and the motivation to want to return to society and live a more productive life.<ref>{{Citation|title=Autobardolatry|date=2009-08-30|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvjsf59f.5|work=The Program Era|pages=77–126|publisher=Harvard University Press|doi=10.2307/j.ctvjsf59f.5|isbn=978-0-674-05424-0|access-date=2020-11-06|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

One California study of prison fine arts programs found that art education increased emotional control and decreased disciplinary reports. Participation in creative writing and other art programs results in significant positive outcomes for the inmates' mental health, their relationships with their families, and the facility's environment. The study found that improved writing skills enhanced participants' abilities in other academic areas of study.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Lahm|first=Karen F.|date=2007-12-04|title=Inmate-On-Inmate Assault|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0093854807308730|journal=Criminal Justice and Behavior|volume=35|issue=1|pages=120–137|doi=10.1177/0093854807308730|s2cid=145434581|issn=0093-8548|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Teaching prisoners creative writing can encourage literacy, teach necessary life skills, and provide prisoners with an outlet to express regret, accountability, responsibility, and a kind of restorative justice.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Appleman|first=Deborah|date=2013|title=Teaching in the Dark: The Promise and Pedagogy of Creative Writing in Prison|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23365346|journal=The English Journal|volume=102|issue=4|pages=24–30|doi=10.58680/ej201323332 |jstor=23365346|issn=0013-8274|url-access=subscription}}</ref>