In 1995, Sarah Lawrence College faculty Regina Arnold (sociology) and Myra Goldberg (writing) created the Right to Write program, weekly writing workshops at the Westchester County Department of Correction to provide incarcerated women an outlet for self-expression. The six-week class enrolled 10 SLC students working with 25 incarcerated writers. Since then, our program has grown to include more incarcerated populations and engage more SLC students each semester.
Over the past decades, these programs with incarcerated women, mothers, and young men have resulted in 25 anthologies of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, songs, and artwork.