WRITERS WITHOUT MARGINS INC
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Mission Statement
Dedicated to the fusion of art and advocacy, we take literature beyond conventional spaces. Our mission is to expand access to the literary arts for unheard and under-resourced communities — including those isolated by the challenges of racism, addiction recovery, trauma, poverty, disability, and mental illness — through free, collaborative, writing workshops, public readings, and publication opportunities intended to empower community, amplify the voices of individuals, and to share stories with the world.
About This Cause
Writers Without Margins exists to cultivate a unique cultural perspective by honoring lived experience of participants, without exploitation. Because we provide our workshops primarily at at shelters, community health centers, prisons, recovery homes, youth agencies, and behavioral health programs, this can often be a gentle, but critical, balance. Working with disempowered individuals, we are always cognizant that any act of speaking truth to power is an act of trust. Honoring the often overlooked and necessary perspectives that a participant possesses can motivate the writer, and the insight and clarity gained in that process of moving the external, internal, or emotional experience to a structured and chosen, tangible, visual form has evidence-based, therapeutic value. Whether it is shared beyond that is a personal choice. For example, while over 1,000 writers have chosen to contribute to our annual, literary journal in the past 7 years, some have opted to use their government name while others have chosen pen names, initials, or first names. Some participants have, instead, sought rather to participate only in the workshops and not share their work, or specified to have it published but not partake in a public reading. In terms of the most exposure, the men from the Wyman Recovery Home who shared their lives in the documentary, "In Their Shoes: Unheard Stories of Reentry & Recovery," have stated that they felt driven by the opportunity to present their stories rather than have them told about them, for once. Another catalyst was the possibility to help another person by presenting the truth, through storytelling, inspiring important conversations about addiction, mass incarceration, violence, childhood trauma, and mental health in a new way. Additionally, those men were given creative control in much of the project when it came to crucial decisions definitive to the perspective of the piece, from the title to whether certain images should be blurred. As much as possible, all of our work is artist driven and directed. The ways in which we expand access to arts and culture are twofold. As our mission statement suggests , by bringing literature "beyond conventional spaces," we provide our free workshops outside of the expected arenas of academia as well as the "norms" of environments where one might expect that paid programming would be offered. This means not only offering the workshop to populations who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford the program, or might not have the confidence to show or the social or professional network to be made aware of it, but literally meeting people where they are, at addiction recovery homes, jails, shelters, community health centers, etc... when folks might not only have the least expendable resources but also be at the most critical point in their lives when the potential of expressive writing and the associated, sustainable coping life skills might be the most useful. Furthermore, for participants that are interested, we bring the work of our writers out to a public audience . Promoting public education pertaining to urgent personal and social issues and relationship-building and connection between disparate communities, (separated by both real and imaginary borders and boundaries) are the reasons why many participants share their stories. The ways in which we are able to do this are by the annual journal publication, public readings, YouTube channel, websites, social media platforms, and community newsletters which draw attention and visibility to our writers throughout our ever-growing audience. Facilitators are the essence of leadership in our organization. Each is paid for their time in workshops and preparation and comes from a wide array of professions and backgrounds including: writing professors, graduate students, mental health professionals, literary editors, social workers, attorneys, artists, musicians, and graduates from the workshops we conduct which they once attended. Currently, WWM has multiple formerly incarcerated individuals who are engaged as Facilitators and another who is employed as the nonprofit's Communications Manager. Each emerged as leaders in their positions while participating in our workshops. Organizationally, we're committed to hiring Facilitators who are either directly representative of the communities they serve and/or have a background, training or education providing both a professional and empathetic understanding of the individuals they work with and where they come from. The majority of our leadership and advisors self-identify as multi-cultural and persons of color, over half are female.. What's also relevant to our work, and often not accounted for in typical demographic questions, is that many of our leaders (from Board members to Facilitators) also cope with mental illness, are in recovery from substance use disorders themselves, and/or have personally been confronted with poverty, under-employment, violence and homelessness or have personal, familial or professional backgrounds and histories which inform their approach and understanding of these experiences and how writing is not a panacea but a crucial tool for survival, empathy and hope. Additionally, WWM is grateful for our Advisors, who are professionally respected innovators and change-makers in the arenas of equity and advancement in the issues we encounter and their intersectionality, including authors, academics, and advocates such as Tricia Rose, Director of the Africana Studies Department at Brown University, and Victoria Lee Hood, a leading voice for people with disabilities who are survivors of sexual assault. Our Advisors lead us regarding our roles as Facilitators, Directors, and Board Members, as well as interpersonally. Advisory Panel members hold sessions with tailored, trauma-informed leadership and are key to our success and organizational evolution. Recently, our organization has added monthly, optional Writing & Wellness virtual meetings with an LICSW (who is also a poet!) to offer an opportunity for our Facilitators to share, debrief, and support one another regarding the workshop impacts, self-care and personal experience(s) of encountering the trauma of others and prioritizing one's own mental and emotional well being.