I am personally interested in the ways that literature influences and helps us articulate our lives, so when I read this, I was intrigued.

I’d like to see the studies too, including demographics of those sentenced to their program.

Changing Lives Through Literature is a nationally recognized alternative sentencing program for criminal offenders founded in 1991 on the power of literature to transform lives. CLTL sentences criminal offenders to a series of literature seminars instead of traditional probation. Studies have confirmed that program graduates are half as likely to commit additional crimes than their counterparts in the justice system.

Earlier this year, we launched a new blog, Changing Lives, Changing Minds (found at http://cltl.umassd.edu/blog ), that features guest essays from professors, scholars, graduate students, and law enforcement officials in the United States and Canada. Some essays focus on Changing Lives Through Literature and other incarceration alternatives, but we are also interested in broader issues such as the transformative power of literature, reading, and writing.

We are especially interested in featuring perspectives from up and coming scholars around the country. We would like to invite you to submit a 500-900 word piece to be featured on the site.

Found because I read The Teacher’s Edge regularly.