On January 4, 1979, Congress held a hearing on the abuse and neglect of youth in institutions. The U.S. government was spending millions of dollars to house teens in for-profit institutions where they were often beaten, drugged or sexually abused. The goal of the hearings was to authorize the Justice Department to intervene for young people…
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Concerns about Caribbean Mountain Academy
I was five the year that Escuela Caribe, then known as Caribe Vista, was cited in U.S Senate Hearing on the Abuse and Neglect of Children in Institutions (1979). Children’s advocate Kenneth Wooden, wanted to know why the State Department had done nothing to shut down Gordon Blossom’s “boarding school,” which he’d visited in 1974,…
Last Friday I Outed Myself as a Reform School Girl…
Last Friday I outed myself as a reform school girl in an interview with Raw Story. They were interested in Escuela Caribe, because in January Kidnapped for Christ, a documentary about Escuela Caribe, will premiere at Sundance. Until now, most of my friends didn’t know I went to reform school. It’s awkward to share, and shameful, because if you say…
Jeff Jackson’s Mira Corpora
Jeff Jackson’s Mira Corpora was my favorite book of 2013. (Flavorwire, Largehearted Boy, Slate, etc. loved it too). My interview with Jeff was published by the Outlet, the blog of Electric Literature. Jeff and I discussed writing with empathy, avoiding victim lit, how music propels his punk rock coming of age novel, and more. Enjoy!
The Truth about New Horizons Youth Ministries
All I wanted was to go to boarding school and play guitar in a rock band, but instead my parents sent me to a Christian reform school in the D.R. So part of my life has been dictated by forces outside of my control- because I went to Escuela Caribe, I have to write about…
New Horizons Youth Ministries Founded by Predator
New Horizons Youth Ministries (parent organization of my reform school, Escuela Caribe) was founded in 1971 by Pastor Gordon Blossom, a former juvenile delinquent who’d served a stint at Michigan’s Floyd Starr Commonwealth Home.* By the time I arrived at Escuela Caribe in January 1990, Pastor Blossom was not active in the “ministry” except during Spiritual Emphasis Week in the Canada branch, Missanabie Woods Academy.* Then he would deliver…
October Status Check
I co-curate the New Town Revue, an Athens, GA music and literature series, which is hosted at Athens’ Avid Bookshop. This last performance, Friday, October 11, featured Jon Davies, Killick Hinds, and Laura Solomon. It was sublime. I volunteered at the Great ARTdoors, a fundraiser for the Hambidge Foundation. They have hosted me for three different residencies; it’s…
Lost in the Letters, Elf Power, & a User’s Guide to Unreformed
I read for Atlanta’s Lost in the Letters this weekend. Listened to some fab writers (Jamie Iredell is hilarious!). Really enjoyed meeting LIL curator Scott Daughtridge. Am looking forward to future collaborations- he’s doing much to build the regional lit scene, like this festival in November (to be linked soon) which features some of my heroes-…
September- So Much!
This past month has whirled by…because this lady has been busy. I returned to my job as a school librarian. I love it, though it keeps me from writing all day. I still wrote almost every day. So close! I re-read Jeff Jackson’s Mira Corpora. We are currently collaborating on an interview. Fun! I am…
Down the Rabbit Hole Audio- Delta Edition
I was one of Rabbit Box‘s storytellers in July. I spoke about discovering the unspoken history of racism in my home region, the Mississippi Delta, which is where my father’s family lived for at least seven generations. Audio is posted here.