Palangga Prison Poetry Prize

Freedom in prison (kasanag sa sulod sang kadulom)
Narratives of disaster, survival and resilience

Women PDL writers:

Angie A. | Anna R P. | Dulce S. | Gizhel P. | Jonaseth B. A. | K.C. M. | Leda L. | Grace G. | Rachelle P. | Vivien B.S. 

 

  

Palangga Prison Poetry (PPP) Hiligaynun binilaybay was launched last September 14, 2019 with awarding of winners on February 14, 2020. A total of 89 entries by 23 women poets were accepted. The poems are voices of women in prison to tell their stories of disaster, survival and resilience. Prose and poetry as Women’s Wings Of Freedom started as their story telling exercise incorporated in the Inday Dolls Project since 2016.

 

Women poets are Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL) from Bureau Of Jail Management And Penology - Iloilo City District Jail Female Dormitory, Gen. Luna St., Iloilo City, Philippines. The first volume is a total of 25 winning pieces from 89 entries.

 

The PPP project responds to the women rehabilitation program through the arts which started since 2014 Freedom in Prison research (Hilway Art Project-Inday Dolls Project). Storytelling in prose or poetry, oral or written, is a creative process where women express their experiences, stories, struggles, traumas, dreams and emotions. This arts-based research in collaboration with incarcerated women, is process-and-people-centered engaged art practice.  The methodology employs inter-textual process looking at the context of freedom in prison.

 

The poetic verses serve as the ultimate assertion of women to her experience of personal trauma and social injustice. Art as a powerful personal expressionis a vehicle in the healing process through expressive arts therapy. The process of verbalizing and storytelling is like medicine to the soul. The creative process democratizes the opportunity for marginalized women to take part in the global conversation about women issues and problematic social justice system.

The creative process compliments the rehabilitation program for incarcerated women. The rich literary material documents the culture of women behind bars, the psychology of prison, politics of space and the freedom in prison.

 

 For all the Indays
and
women artists behind bars
who embrace
freedom in prison.