Writing Behind Bars

Red Salmon Arts and the Mexican American Cultural Center present WRITING BEHIND BARS, a special screening of the new documentary WRIT WRITER by Susanne Mason and poetry reading by award-winning writer Jorge Antonio Renaud. The event celebrates the creativity and courage of two convicted felons who refused to be shamed into silence by their history.  With their pens they gave voice to the crushing brutality of prison life, seeking humane treatment of prisoners.

WRIT WRITER portrays the historic conflict that emerged in the 1960s when prisoners in Texas rose up to challenge the brutal conditions in state prisons. Focusing on the story of self-taught jailhouse lawyer Fred Arispe Cruz, the film portrays the protracted legal battle for the right of Texas prisoners to assist each other with lawsuits. Ultimately, Cruz’s legal battle initiated what lead to the most comprehensive court-ordered state prison reform in U.S. history.

Following the film, Jorge Antonio Renaud will read from his unpublished collection of poetry written while incarcerated.  Renaud spent 17 years in Texas prisons for robbery, and was released in July 2008.  This will be his first public appearance to read his work since his incarceration in 1991.  Renaud’s reading will pay tribute to one of his mentors, the late raulrsalinas, founder of Red Salmon Arts in Austin.

Filmmaker Susanne Mason has served as associate producer of several public television documentaries, including Are The Kids Alright? (2004 Regional PBS); Struggle In The Fields (1996 National PBS); Songs Of The Homeland (1994, National PBS); and Go Back To Mexico! (1994, Frontline, National PBS).  More recently, Mason has produced and associate produced short historical documentaries about Austin, Texas, and the Great Society programs of the Johnson presidency.

Jorge Antonio Renaud is the author of “Behind the Walls: A Guide for Families and Friends of Texas Prison Inmates.” His writing has been published in Americas Review, The Texas Observer, The Threepenny Review, Revista Chicano-Riqueña, and The Other Side, among other publications.  He has received nine PEN awards for his poetry, fiction, nonfiction and memoir writing. Prior to his incarceration, he worked as a copy editor for the Austin American-Statesman.