128-G: Art and Writing from a California State Prison

128-G is a collection of art and writing from inmates at Calipatria State Prison in Southern California. The book consists of scans of original art and artifacts from inside Calipatria - drawings, typed and handwritten letters, birthday cards, and powerful photos. Profits go to Words Uncaged.

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“What you have in your hands is not only a collection of art, but a collection of voices. All of these men have been incarcerated in the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for many years, some since they were fourteen. They have amazing stories to share if you’re willing to look and listen.”

-Joel Baptiste (Inmate at Donovan Prison)

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"Language and images have the power to make us, imprison us, and remake us. Through language and art, we can assert our rights to be, to live, and to create a new life.”

-Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy (Founder of Words Uncaged)

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“128-G could not be more timely as we approach the fall of 2020. These pages contain raw, honest, emotional, and beautiful writings from men sequestered  in the California carceral system. Their willing vulnerability opens a window into a world most don’t know firsthand—a place devoid of care, one harsh in climate and compassion, and painful to endure. The artworks and photography that accompany these writings exemplify the power of the creative mind, and magnify what is possible when one is given even the slightest chance to express oneself through language and art.”

-Russell Salmon (Hauser and Wirth)

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California has often led the nation into both the best and the very worst prison practices.  Few have bothered to ask what those on the receiving end of this mega-prison see and feel, hear, and taste and smell of where the law stops and extra-legal practice begins.  What are the social, psychological, and emotional effects of living inside an institution committed to damaging human beings? The titles from Brick of Gold publishing are helping to answer that question and to fill that gap. They reveal to us a place filled not with the monstrous images spewed out by popular media and the prison industry, but the dwelling of writers and artists whose humanity is fully intact; so much so, we find ourselves learning, from their resilience and wisdom, what remaining fully human really requires.

-Doran Larson (American Prison Writing Archive at Hamilton College)