Austin host
Ben Thoma
@StrictlyCircus
Until you define your prison, you can’t break free.
Katie Ford went to prison thinking it was her job to inspire the women there. A writer by trade, she volunteered to teach a writing workshop to incarcerated women, downloading classroom rubrics from the Internet and hoping to apply herself to something a little bit more meaningful. What she got was so much more.
In helping incarcerated women write the stories of what they believe led them to prison, Katie began to identify her own “prison” — the first critical step in her personal liberation. In this CreativeMornings/Austin talk on the global theme of Freedom, Katie explores the confines of prison: for the women she mentors and for herself.
About the speaker
A professional writer and editor since 1993, Katie Ford officially launched a second career as a writing workshop facilitator in 2015. She aims to bring into the free world restorative, creativity-based experiences that are inspired by the volunteer work she does in prison. She envisions working with all types of people — especially at-risk populations, but really anyone seeking opportunities to learn and heal through writing.
When she’s not stringing words together to make a buck or going to prison, she indulges in books, movies, dance, photography, art museums, far West Texas road trips, and not so far walks with her three-legged cattle dog, Martha Jean Ford.
Favorite quotes from this talk See all
“It is only when you can name your prison that you can do the terrifying, but life affirming and necessary work of setting yourself free. — Katie Ford
added by
Carly Ayres
“What I'm doing right now feels so natural. It feels so good. It's like I'm right where I'm supposed to be. — Katie Ford
added by
Brian Thompson
“I went into prison thinking that it was my job to inspire these women, but what it turns out to be is that these women are inspiring me to get out of my prison. — Katie Ford
added by
Carly Ayres
“I was in this windowless classroom, down a windowless hallway, I had walked through four heavy steel doors that buzzed open and closed, yet I felt liberated. — Katie Ford
added by
Carly Ayres
“I had a huge awakening. I was looking at this grown woman in dark blue prison scrubs, these convicted criminals, villains, that I had a bias against, and thought, this is about multiple generations of a family in crisis. This problem is so much bigger than I initially understood. — Katie Ford
added by
Carly Ayres
Photos from this talk See all
