Creative & Expository Writing

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As creative writers and critical thinkers, our students and alumni pursue a wide range of literary forms outside the classroom.

SOÜLVANDER

A Counter-Culture of Hope

Lessons from a Bird

A day in the life of a formerly incarcerated organizer

Guest Commentary: Decarceration Can Be Compassionate

A Memory

Academic Writing

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Inside the classroom, students have a variety of intellectual interests that are reflected in term papers, final projects, and other course assignments.

Published Works

Our students and alumni's work is regularly published in a variety of national news outlets.

After years in California prison, voting is a personal triumph over my silent past 

October 25, 2024 | Bonaru Richardson | Cal Matters

A day in the life of a formerly incarcerated organizer

July 25, 2024 | Philippe “Kells” Kelly |

Guest Commentary: Decarceration Can Be Compassionate

July 25, 2024 | Kelton P O’Connor |

Learning the Value of My Vote

April 16, 2024 | Andrew Hardy |

Listening to Taylor Swift in Prison

September 15, 2023 | Joe Garcia |

The Radical Shift in Drug Treatment Happening Inside California Prisons

January 31, 2023 | Juan Moreno Haines |

At San Quentin Prison, Law Students See Restorative Justice In Action

January 31, 2023 | Juan Moreno Haines |

First-ever International Prison Radio Conference shows potential of ‘story power’ to effect change

October 20, 2022 | Rahsaan "New York" Thomas, Co-Host and Co-Producer ("Ear Hustle" Podcast) |

San Quentin Is Still Punishing People for Being Sick

October 6, 2022 | Katie Rose Quandt and Juan Moreno Haines | typeinvestigations, The American Prospect, San Quentin News: Katie Rose Quandt and Juan Moreno Haines printed September 19, 2022

The Backstory: Juan Moreno Haines

October 2, 2022 | Paco Alvarez | typeinvestigations

A Conversation With Joe Garcia About His Recent Page One Feature Story

September 13, 2022 | Joe Garcia | Prison Journalism Project/Vol. 3 Issue 9: Telling Stories from Inside the Walls

My Wild and Winding Path to a College Degree Behind Bars

September 7, 2022 | Rahsaan Thomas | The Marshall Project

Op-Ed–In prison, the work of journalism is challenging but essential

July 12, 2022 | JUAN MORENO HAINES | Los Angeles Times

Tying Water Access to Labor in Overcrowded Prisons is Wrong

July 8, 2022 | Steve Brooks | Cal Matters

I got COVID in San Quentin and watched as hundreds more were infected and 29 died. Here’s our story.

October 9, 2021 | Juan Moreno Haines | San Francisco Chronicle

A prison reckoning with remorse

August 15, 2021 | Rahsaan Thomas | Boston Globe

How I Convinced My Incarcerated Peers to Make Language a Priority

April 19, 2021 | Rahsaan Thomas | The Marshall Project

Following Deadly COVID-19 Outbreak, Incarcerated People at San Quentin Grapple with Vaccinations

April 9, 2021 | Juan Moreno Haines and Kevin Deroi Sawyer | El Tecolote

Student Steve Brooks Honored by Society of Professional Journalists

February 8, 2021 | Mount Tamalpais College | Society of Professional Journalists

Even in a Pandemic, San Quentin Must Restore Rehabilitation Programs

December 14, 2020 | Marcus Blevins | San Francisco Chronicle

Student Juan Moreno Haines on COVID-19 Inside San Quentin

August 14, 2020 | Juan Moreno Haines | The Appeal

Inside San Quentin Prison, You Sit and Wait Until COVID-19 Comes for You

July 23, 2020 | Joe Garcia | Washington Post

Right Side of History

July 3, 2020 | Steve Brooks | Prison Journalism Project

‘I Spent 11 Years In Prison—And Produced a Rap Album at San Quentin’

June 25, 2020 | David Jassy | Newsweek

America is Isolated. I’ve Been There Before. Lessons I’ve Learned from San Quentin

April 10, 2020 | Kenyatta Leal | USA Today

Dispatches from San Quentin—Is San Quentin State Prison the Future of Prison Reform?

October 20, 2019 | James King | WitnessLA

I Host a Popular Podcast. I’m Also in Prison.

September 26, 2019 | Rahsaan Thomas | The Marshall Project

I Did 18 Years in Prison for Murder. Now I’m On a Mission to End Gun Violence.

June 28, 2019 | James Houston | San Francisco Chronicle

The Judge and Jury Agreed I Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Did I Just Serve 16 Years For Murder?

June 22, 2019 | Adnan Khan | New York Times

Spring Lake

May 28, 2019 | Carl Raybon | Voice of Witness

My Crossroads Moment

March 12, 2019 | Troy Dunmore | Voice of Witness

Dispatch From San Quentin—Young, Earnest and Criminalized

March 4, 2019 | James King | WitnessLA

Dad Deserved Better

February 6, 2019 | Joe Garcia | Voice of Witness

Oral History at San Quentin Prison

February 2, 2019 | Cliff Mayotte | Voice of Witness

I Ran a Marathon in Prison

January 15, 2019 | Steve Brooks | Voices of Witness

On Art and Voting—Thinking About Tuesday’s Elections from Inside San Quentin

November 7, 2018 | James King | Witness LA

One Prison Taught Me Racism. Another Taught Me Acceptance

October 1, 2018 | Jesse Vasquez | The Washington Post

Redemption is Not Just for Me

February 12, 2018 | Emile DeWeaver | San Francisco Chronicle

I Thought Being Gay Was a Sin Until I Saw My Friend Suffer in Prison

August 17, 2017 | James King | The Marshall Project

Allow Parole for Lifers—Reformed Violent Criminals—Under Proposition 57

April 24, 2017 | Emile DeWeaver | The Mercury News

When a Wedding Narrowed the ‘Emotional Distance’ of Prison

February 9, 2017 | James King | The Marshall Project

What Does It Mean to Be a Real Man?

October 12, 2016 | Mesro El Coles | Juvenile Justice Information Exchange

Creating a Healthy Society

April 29, 2016 | Sam Vaughn | Mount Tamalpais College

Apple, Ex-cons, and Second Chances

April 17, 2015 | Aly Tamboura | San Francisco Chronicle

Earning a Degree in Jail—Karl Marx, Aristotle and Strip Searches

April 10, 2015 | Timothy Nash | HuffPost

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Open Line masthead artwork by alumnus, Philip Menendez