A SUITE OF PROJECTS
PonyXpress, 2023-ongoing
Bridgeworks runs on-site workshops to mentor adults in custody as they organize writing communities across the state; to that end, they publish the PonyXpress — an online journal created for Oregon writers. Subscribe for free: theponyXpress.
The Ground Beneath Us, 2019-ongoing
Located at Oregon State Penitentiary, the Ground Beneath Us group of writers met monthly until COVID required that they pivot to a correspondence model, during which the group developed writing for the anthology Prisons Have a Long Memory: Life Inside Oregon’s Oldest Prison. The men have formed an editorial board tasked to select, edit, and provide feedback on submissions for the ponyXpress.
Hecate’s Lantern, 2022-ongoing
A sister writing project, Hecate’s Lantern was designed to mentor women at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility. The Regional Arts & Culture Council provided support for the pilot program and publication of a chapbook. This group continues to meet regularly as part of the PonyXpress writing workshops.
Bridgeworks Presents Film Fest, 2020-2022
As a COVID response, Bridgeworks created a film series that explored themes (such as feminist icons or director Hayao Miyazaki.) A workbook accompanied each series and provided background reading, discussion questions, and writing prompts. Oregon Humanities funding made it possible to extend the program to additional prisons across Oregon.
Folsom50 Oregon Prison Tour, 2017-ongoing
Live concerts produced in prisons statewide, led by Danny Wilson with the band Luther’s Boots.
CASH: Music, Legacy, & Redemption, 2019-2020
A musical lecture that broadcasts stories of the people the Bridgeworks team met during the first Oregon prison tour, alongside the songs Johnny Cash performed in his “At Folsom Prison” concert in 1968. The piece has been presented in schools, colleges, prisons — and at the Johnny Cash Heritage Festival in Dyess, Arkansas, in 2019.
Luther’s Books Book Drive, 2018
Special event to help stock the library at South Fork Forest Camp in Tillamook with nonfiction books. The 200-man camp trains adult in custody to do forest restoration work in winter and firefighting during the wildfire season.