In this, the final episode of The Personhood Project, host Aaron Tyler Hand sits down with poet Kathy Fagan. Fagan is the author of six poetry collections, including Bad Hobby, Sycamore, and The Raft. In the episode, the two discuss how poetry is often felt before it’s understood, and how its music and mystery allow both readers and writers to access emotions and truths that ordinary language can’t reach. They also talk about the difficulty—and necessity—of confronting the past, why that work is “so worth the time and effort,” and how poetry creates space for claiming one’s place in the world.

Discover more about ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rough Draft TX⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Personhood Project⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

In this penultimate episode of The Personhood Project, poet Diannely Antigua sits down with host Aaron Tyler Hand for a conversation about the intersection of healing and craft. In the episode, the two discuss Antigua’s poetry collections Ugly Music and Good Monster, and how diary-entry poems can serve as a bridge between the therapeutic and the artistic. They also discuss the importance of noticing the poetic in the mundane, the role of community in healing, and how reclaiming one's story by sharing it can be a powerful act of care and resistance.

Discover more about ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rough Draft TX⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Personhood Project⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

This month poet Rosebud Ben-Oni sits down with Aaron Tyler Hand for the season two finale of The Personhood Project. In this episode, the two discuss the ways in which poetry can offer hope when all other signs point towards there not being any and the ways poetry allows us to see people more three-dimensionally. The two also discuss the pain of watching a loved one get locked up as well as the importance of writing to congress to make change in things you believe in. Rosebud also offers insight into her chapbook 20 Atomic Sonnets and the full length collection that it's developing into.

You can find our writing prompts and the incarcerated writers' poems ⁠HERE⁠!

Sitting down with host Aaron Tyler Hand this month is poet, editor, and copywriter Phil Goldstein. In it they discuss Goldstein's debut collection, How To Bury a Boy at Sea, and the ways he used the poems in the book to help process childhood trauma and help close a painful chapter in his life. Goldstein also recommends ways to write towards a personal truth when there isn’t much separation between speaker and poet, and the importance of having a therapist when writing deeply personal poems. The two also talk about the lack of creative outlets available in carceral systems to help people work through feelings of isolation. You can find our writing prompts and the incarcerated writers' poems HERE!

For the 18th episode of The Personhood Project, host, Aaron Tyler Hand, sits down with poet Megan Fernandes. In it, they discuss Fernandes' latest collection, I Do Everything I'm Told, from Tin House books and the way her sonnet crowns play with repetition compulsion. They also examine the right and wrong way to approach writing a poem, the ways we hold contradictions within ourselves and in our writing, and the reasons why we need to stop saying "poetry is dead."

You can find our writing prompts and the incarcerated writers' poems HERE!

This month, The Personhood Project welcomes poet James Fujinami Moore to speak with our host, Aaron Tyler Hand. In this episode, the two discuss Moore's debut collection, Indecent Hours, from Four Way Books. Additionally, they speak on reflections of violence within our culture and how being a firsthand witness to violence can change us. Moore speaks on the power of poetry to deal with ambiguity and uncertainty, as well as the ways poetry can help one break through mental loops.

You can find our writing prompts and the incarcerated writers' poems HERE!

For our 16th episode, host, Aaron Tyler Hand is joined by poet, environmental educator, and cultural preservationist Ashia Ajani. Outside of giving insight into their debut full length collection called Heirloom, Ashia and Aaron discuss the crossroads between environmental justice and social harm. Additionally, they talk about the importance of connecting to nature and greenspaces, especially for those stuck in a carceral system. They take a deep dive into understanding inheritance and forced migration when sharing ones climate story. Ashia also goes into how one can use imagination to fight against despair.

You can find our writing prompts and the incarcerated writers' poems HERE!

This month, poet Joshua Burton joins our host Aaron Tyler Hand to discuss his debut collection of poetry, Grace Engine, as well as his chapbook Fracture Anthology. In conversation, they bring up Terrance Hayes, the usefulness of exploring Juxtaposition, and the grace found within the tension. The two also discuss writing about family in an honest yet ethical way. Most importantly, they discuss how writing about family or even writing in general allows one to get closer to finding their own truth.

You can find our writing prompts and the incarcerated writers' poems ⁠HERE⁠.