Shows
writing class radioMy Dead Mother Brings My Sister and Me Together Once a YearToday on our show, we bring you a story by Maxine Poupko. Maxine’s story is a great example of character development, showing the tiny details in a complex relationship, and bringing the reader into a different world. Maxine wrote this story for the Writing Class Radio retreat in February 2023. The story was workshopped and refined with feedback and encouragement from the group. If you have a strained relationship with a member of your family, this episode is for you!Maxine Poupko is a writer, a registered nurse, and a health advocate. She teaches writing workshops at the...2023-07-1217 min
writing class radioI’m the Black Crayon Nobody WantsToday on our show, we bring you a story by Corey Devon Arthur. Corey has served 25 years on a life sentence for robbery and murder and is currently housed at Otisville Correctional Institution in New York. Corey is an artist and writer who has been published on Writing Class Radio and The Marshall Project, among others. Corey’s stories have aired on Episode 120: My Pen Uncovers the Real Me, Episode 128: My New Manifesto, and Episode 143: Cutting Needless Words. This story is a great example of metaphor, which is not easy to pull off. Andrea and Allison will talk...2023-06-2824 min
writing class radioOutsourcing My OrgasmToday on our show, we bring you a story by Jenny Powers. Jenny is a New York-based freelance reporter. She writes for HuffPost, The Cut, Business Insider, Fortune, and more. She is working on a memoir called, "Smooth Operator: Confessions of an Accidental Phone Sex Vixen." You can see more of her work at https://www.clippings.me/jpowers.Jenny’s essay originally appeared in The Cut and is titled “Outsourcing My Orgasm.” We trimmed just slightly for the podcast. We love so many things about Jenny’s essay, and we talk about that in detail on this epi...2023-06-1425 min
writing class radioEvery Word MattersToday on our show, we bring you a story by Laurie Eynon. This story is a behind-the-scenes Jeopardy! audition revealed and a good lesson in how every word matters. And the voice of the narrator is amazing. So good!!! Laurie takes us through her one chance at becoming a Jeopardy! champion and what happened.Laurie Eynon is a hospital and hospice chaplain in Indianapolis, Indiana. She was a regular contributor to the Atlanta Journal Constitution's Sunday section, wrote a play that was produced off-off Broadway, and has been published in the HuffPost and Christian Science Monitor. Laurie E...2023-05-3116 min
writing class radioAre Thin People Allowed To Write About Weight?Today on our show, we bring you a story by Sari Botton. Sari’s story is a great example of how to tell a story that encompasses your whole life. It is also a great example of how to end a story while you are still living with a situation.Sari has been featured before on WCR. Check out Episode 80: You Have Permission to Write or Not Write. Sari Botton (sounds like Larry Cotton) is the author of the memoir in essays, And You May Find Yourself…Confessions of a Late-Blooming Gen-X Weirdo. A different version of the...2023-05-1732 min
writing class radioWant To Get Published in HuffPost? Editor Noah Michelson Tells You HowToday’s episode features a story by one of our favorite students, Margery Berger. She has been taking classes with us since way before the pandemic. Margery has told stories on our podcast twice before. Episode 46: An Object Is not Just an Object aired in 2018 features a really compelling story about Margery’s obsession with her scale. On Episode 95: What Did It Take to Finally Get Published? Margery told a story about the time her boyfriend said she has ugly hands. That episode is great because we talked to Margery about what holds her back. Margery submitted this...2023-05-0343 min
writing class radioTrichotillomania Became My Constant CompanionThis is the first essay in our college essay series. Last August 2022, Andrea and Allison hosted a teen writing and service retreat in Guatemala. We took eight rising seniors and two rising juniors a gazillion miles away from their homes and busted their hearts wide open. Each student left the United States with ZERO words and returned with a perfect 650-word common app essay. Before we left, each student recorded their final draft. On this episode, Emily Olster shares her college essay called Letting My Hair Fly. On day one of the essay boot camp, Andrea and A...2023-04-1919 min
writing class radioParenting Alone: How Will My Autistic Son Manage Without Me?This episode is about landing an ending. It’s also about raising the bar on what we write about. In this case, storyteller Jennifer Landau writes something new and important about being a mom. She is afraid for what will happen to her son after she dies. This is especially important because like Allison and Andrea, Jennifer chose to have children on her own using anonymous sperm donation. So, Jennifer does not have a co-parent. The story is beautiful and so honest. This essay was previously published in Literary Mama.Jennifer Landau lives in Westchester County, NY wit...2022-04-2026 min
writing class radioThe Hate Hate CreatesThis is the final episode in a 10-part series inspired by the men Allison Langer taught memoir writing, in a men’s prison. This series shared stories written by Allison’s former memoir students as well as formerly incarcerated and currently incarcerated people from around the United States. Their experiences and voices, like those of many incarcerated people, are often marginalized and unheard.On today’s episode, you will hear a story by Richardson Francois aka Swa, who Allison confesses was one of her favorite students. Swa will read his story, The Hate Hate Creates. Hate, Swa argues...2022-03-0955 min
writing class radioThe Words He Left BehindThis is the ninth episode in a 10-part series inspired by the people Allison Langer taught memoir writing, in a men’s prison. You will hear new stories her former students wrote after taking her class and stories from other incarcerated or formerly incarcerated people around the world.On today’s episode, you will hear a story by someone who is still incarcerated. For security reasons, he calls himself NameLess. You will understand why he has chosen to remain NameLess once you hear his story called Observation.Please join our GoFundMe campaign to raise money for...2022-02-2323 min
writing class radioWhat Does 44 Years in Prison Look Like?This is the eighth episode in a 10-part series inspired by the people Allison Langer taught memoir writing, in a men’s prison. You will hear new stories her former students wrote after taking her class and stories from other incarcerated or formerly incarcerated people around the world.In this episode, you will hear a story written by Robert Fell, who was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his wife. Robert has been in prison for 44 years. Robert Fell earned a Bachelors of Agricultural Science from Cornell. He’s certified as a speci...2022-02-0927 min
writing class radioWhen a Big Mistake Becomes CatastrophicThis is the seventh episode in a 10-part series inspired by the people Allison Langer taught memoir writing, in a men’s prison. You will hear new stories her former students wrote after taking her class and stories from other incarcerated or formerly incarcerated people around the world.Today on the show, we have Dewain Williams. Dewain responded to our call for stories. His story reveals something really ugly at the top. We think he reveals this deliberately to show how much he's changed. We want to hear from you. Should he have have left out this de...2022-01-2628 min
writing class radioMy Pen Uncovers the Real MeThis is the sixth episode in a 10-part series inspired by the memoir students Allison Langer taught in a men’s prison. You will hear new stories her former students wrote after taking her class and stories from other incarcerated or formerly incarcerated people around the world.On this episode, Corey Devon Arthur, a journalist inside Fishkill Correctional Facility in New York State, tells his story about wishing he could always be the person he is in writing. Corey submitted his essay through an angel named Sarah Holtz from Empowerment Avenue, a collective of writers on the in...2022-01-1222 min
writing class radioWhen Is it Safe to Ignore the Law?This is the fifth episode in a 10-part series inspired by the people Allison Langer taught memoir writing, in a men’s prison. You will hear new stories by her former students wrote and stories from other incarcerated or formerly incarcerated people around the world.On this episode, we feature an essay by Rashmi Airan, who reads her story and answers questions on the show. Rashmi is an internationally recognized corporate and motivational speaker and entrepreneur. As a leader in her community and beyond, Rashmi empowers others to overcome adversity and challenges. She is currently working on a...2021-12-2949 min
writing class radioStanding at the Prison Gate, I Was Icarus Plummeting to Earth.This is the fourth episode in a 10-part series inspired by the people Allison Langer taught memoir writing, in a men’s prison. You will hear new stories her former students wrote after taking her class and stories from other incarcerated or formerly incarcerated people around the world.Today’s show shares two stories by Dutch Simmons, who served two years in a federal prison. Dutch reveals the horrors of saying goodbye to his family as he walks into prison. Dutch also takes us through 11 (of 30) days in solitary confinement. Dutch says he’s been both a...2021-12-151h 08
writing class radioA Day in the Life of a PrisonerThis is the third episode in a 10-part series inspired by the people Allison Langer taught memoir writing, in a men’s prison. You will hear new stories by her former students and stories from other incarcerated or formerly incarcerated people around the world.Today’s show shares a story by Roderick Richardson, an inmate in a Florida prison. Rod is a master storyteller who grew up in Liberty City, which is a very rough area in Miami. Rod took care of his six brothers and sisters when his mom was incarcerated. At 12 years old, Rod sold drug...2021-12-0135 min
writing class radioHow Do You Fulfill a Promise When You’re Stuck in Prison?This is the second episode in a 10-part series inspired by the people Allison Langer taught memoir writing, in a men’s prison. You will hear stories her former students wrote after taking her class and stories from other incarcerated or formerly incarcerated people around the world.To help us get this right, Xaire has agreed to co-host the series with us. Xaire is a poet, singer-songwriter, actor, and teacher who teaches writing and poetry to kids in the foster care system and kids caught up in a detention center. THIS MUST BE SAID: We don...2021-11-1734 min
writing class radioWhat I Learned from Men in PrisonWelcome to Season 12. Today, we’re starting a 10-part series inspired by the people Allison Langer taught memoir writing, in a men’s prison. We put a call out for stories, so you will hear stories her students have written recently and stories from other incarcerated or formerly incarcerated people around the world.To help us get this right, we asked Xaire, who is a poet, singer-songwriter, actor, and teacher to co-host with us. Xaire teaches writing and poetry to kids in the foster care system. THIS MUST BE SAID: We don’t mean to sensati...2021-11-0332 min
writing class radioWhy Did the Prison Series Get Canceled?Welcome to Season 11. If you’re new to Writing Class Radio, season 11 was going to be a little different. We started a 10-part series inspired by the people Allison met teaching memoir writing in prison. But last week, Allison was fired by the organization she volunteered for and we were asked to take down the episodes. On this episode, we tell you why.Listen to see how we plan to move forward from here. Just a hint...there is no way we are giving up on our mission to get marginalized and typically unheard voices into the wo...2021-04-1414 min
writing class radioWhat I Learned from Men in PrisonThis episode is the first in a 10-part series where we will bring you stories from men in prison. Host Allison Langer facilitates memoir writing classes through Exchange for Change, a group that brings writing classes into prison. The experiences and voices of Allison’s students at Dade Correctional Institution, like those of many incarcerated people, are often marginalized and unheard. Our goal is to bring these voices to light.To help get this right, we have poet, musician, and activist Marnino Toussaint, who also facilitates classes with Exchange for Change. Marnino will be reading the stories, si...2021-03-1740 min
Art Prevails PodcastOf Soul, Soil and Nutrients: Marnino ToussaintDarius and Nyah speak to the multi-talented Marnino Toussaint. Marnino Toussaint, is a South Florida-based Poet, Singer , rapper, and art educator who has worked alongside the likes of actors Omari Hardwick and Victoria Justice, author Mary Pope Osborne and has opened for Hip Hop legend, Chuck D. Marnino also had the opportunity to perform at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, California as part of their ceremony honoring musical legend and activist, Harry Belafonte. While he loves to sing about love, Marnino lives to inspire activism and connectivity in his community. Marnino gives back to the...2021-01-041h 07