Witness Magazine

Writings from Prison – Vol. I No. 3 (1987)


Joanne Curran



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Fiction

Fielding Dawson, Triumph!
Melvin James, Sunday’s Worship
Banning K. Lary, Death of a Duke
Kent Monroe, Jr., Perple Jesus

Poetry

George C. Allen, Jr., Petri Dish Self-Portrait
Leanne Archibeque, Machaca
Darrah Cloud, Inmates
Charles Culhane, Autumn Yard
R. Geren Edwards, Nascene
Raymond Ringo Fernandez, Cell-Rapping / Plastic and Steel
Kirpal Gordon, Under the Gun Tower
Janine Pommy Vega, Human Prayer / Lurigancho
Kimberly Wozencraft, Give & Take
James Zientek, John Doe’s Father Died This A.M.

Nonfiction

Hal Anderson, Learning Not to Escape from Prison
William R. Bates, Letters Home
Roger Buehl, The Row
Tom Cahill, AIDS May Be a Blessing
William Hester, Boom Years in the Fear Industry
Harvey Isaak, Fortune Story
Randolph Jenkins, A Note
Otis Nelson, Jr., A Piece of My Mind
Kathrin Perutz, P.E.N. and Prisons
Billy Sinclair, At Death’s Door
Jerome Washington, Nightwatch
Kimberly Wozencraft, Notes from the Country Club

Photography & Artwork

David Arroyo, Cell Block 6
Joanne Curran, Cemetery at Attica

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Spring 2023

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Editor-in-Chief Areej Quraishi

Managing Editor Benjamin Stallings

Engagement & Design Editor Lindsay Olson

Fiction Editors Tanya Shirazi & Xueyi Zhou

Nonfiction Editor Dominque Conway

Poetry Editor John B. Oldenborg

Editorial Assistant Charlie Bartlett

Contributing Editors Henry Gunderson, Anne Livingston, Cecil Lycoris, Leah Mell, Marlan Smith, Kelly Stith, Carlos Tkacz, Jo Wallace

Readers Justine Baker, Carrie Bindschadler, Nicholas Bon, Sara Brown, Alycia Calvert, Delight Ejiaka, Benjamin Favero, Jordan Foster, Eli Jacobs, Arel Wiederholt Kassar, Veronica Klash, Clarissa Leon, Alice Letowt, Aeriel Marillat, Nicole Minton, Destiny Pinder-Buckley, Avery Portis, Sara Tausendfreund, Layhannara Tep, Tonya Todd, Rachel Walker, Kailee Wingo

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We support, uplift and publish Trans voices. In today’s U.S. climate of anti-trans rhetoric and policy, and the killing of trans bodies and minds, it is imperative that as a literary magazine, we commit to publishing a global range of trans writers, with no attempt at policing what trans looks and sounds like. We respect people on the trans spectrum and seek to be a safe place for trans thinkers and trans stories.

Consider donating to the following causes:

Transgender Law Center
The Okra Project
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Black Lives Matter

We stand together with the Black community and commit to double down on anti-racist efforts. We continue our mission to amplify extraordinary voices, feature writers from every part of the globe and add to the conversations surrounding oppression, prejudice, fear, and raw honesty. 

As ever, as always, and forever, Black lives matter.  

We remember: Ahmaud Arbery, Sandra Bland, George Floyd, Atatiana Jefferson, Tony McDade, Breonna Taylor  

We remember the victims in Las Vegas: Tashii Brown, Keith Childress, Trevon Cole, Sharmel Edwards, Stanley Gibson, Junior Lopez, Roy Anthony Scott, Bryon Lee Williams, Rex Wilson 

We hold space for the numerous other Black people whose names did not enter the public record, or whose lives have been lost to the archive.  


Stop Asian Hate

We denounce the increasing instances of bias, harassment, and violence against Asian and Asian American individuals in our community and elsewhere. We recognize and grieve the devastating effects of anti-Asian rhetoric, and we stand with all of those who are experiencing this and other forms of racism and xenophobia during the COVID-19 pandemic.


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Editor-in-chief Jarret Keene & Emily Setina

Managing & Engagement Editor Lindsay Olson

Fiction Editor Wendy Wimmer

Assistant Fiction Editor Robert Ren

Nonfiction Editor Cody Gambino

Poetry Editor Lindsay Olson

Readers Anthony Farris, Dylan Fisher, Ruth Larmore, Kathryn McKenzie, Chantelle Mitchell, Flavia Stefani, Jordan Sutlive, Ariana Turiansky, Alexandra Murphy, Bronwyn Scott-McCharen, Carrieann Cahall, Ilanit Moskul, Jo Hahn, Marycourtney Ning, Sanjana Gothi, Sarah Spaulding

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Readers Erika Abad, Steven Aiken, Mir Arif, Justine Baker, Alexis Noel Brooks, Soni Brown, Alycia Calvert, Cristina Cisneros, Dylan Cloud, Emily Daniel, Win Frederick, Sara Guiang, Stephen Ira, Eli Jacobs, Veronica Klash, Kelly Lindell, Lynda Montgomery, Jesse Motte, Stephanie O’Brien, John Oldenborg, Jennifer Quintanilla, Mark Ranchez, Flavia Stefani Resende, Chelsi Sayti, Vandana Sehrawat, Sarah Spaulding, Benjamin Stallings, Jordan Sutlive, Sara Tausendfreund, Tonya Todd, Erin Turner

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Nonfiction Editor Mir Arif

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Editorial Assistant Oona Robertson

Contributing Editors Alycia Calvert, Emma Hardy, Henry Gunderson, Eli Jacobs, Nicole Minton, Ezra Noel, John Oldenborg, Jennifer Quintanilla, Amanda Santana, Marlan Smith, Ben Socolofsky, Sarah Spaulding, Sara Tausendfreund, Olivia Williams, Sara Guiang

Readers Erika Abad, Justine Baker, Charlie Bartlett, Alexis Noel Brooks, Veronica Klash, Alice Letowt, Laurel Miram, Jesse Motte, Mark Ranchez, Benjamin Stallings, Vandana Sehrawat, Tonya Todd

Faculty Advisor Maile Chapman

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