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Vermont Humanities, Writers for Recovery bring Vermont Reads program back into state correctional facilities
Summary
Representatives of Vermont Humanities and Writers for Recovery told the House Corrections and Institutions Committee on Feb. 12 that Vermont Reads and writing workshops have resumed in correctional facilities after a pandemic pause, citing widespread participation and calls for more library resources and ongoing Department of Corrections support.
Vermont Humanities and a Vermont writing program told the House Corrections and Institutions Committee on Feb. 12 that in-person Vermont Reads events and Writers for Recovery workshops have resumed in state correctional facilities following a multi-year pandemic pause.
"What I really wanna talk about today is Vermont Reads, and I have left you, a Vermont Reads book on your desk," said Christopher Kaufman Illustrip, executive director of Vermont Humanities, who described the statewide reading initiative and its ties to correctional programming.
Vermont Humanities, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities and partner to the Vermont Arts Council through the Vermont Creative Network, said it awarded "almost half a million dollars in grants across the state" in 2024 and distributed thousands of Vermont Reads copies. Kaufman said the current Vermont Reads selection has been the program's most popular in its 23-year history, with about 6,200 copies given away and roughly 3,000 remaining to distribute through June; 91 communities are running about 120 related projects.
Isbeth "Bess" O'Brien, a documentary filmmaker with Kingdom County Productions who directs the Writers for Recovery program, told the committee the group has delivered workshops in every prison, recovery center and treatment facility in Vermont over the past decade. "What we do is we go and primarily work with folks who are in recovery from addiction and substance, abuse disorder, and we give them 7 minute prompts," O'Brien said, describing a short-form creative-writing exercise she uses in groups of roughly five to 20 participants.
O'Brien said Writers for Recovery resumed in-prison workshops in 2024 after an almost four-year interruption. She described related projects that include a "Lullaby Project" in the women's prison — developed through training with Carnegie Hall — and three Gather-based workshops tied to the current Vermont Reads title. Participants have published in annual anthologies compiled by the program, she said.
Both presenters said the Vermont Department of Corrections has provided recurring grant support for Writers for Recovery. Committee members and other attendees praised the program's effects: several speakers described the workshops as among "the best programs in the correctional facility," saying they offer meaningful creative activity, help participants process emotions and sometimes continue informally after facilitators leave.
Speakers also raised the state of correctional libraries. Kaufman and O'Brien told the committee that facility libraries often hold dated titles and receive only small annual budgets; Kaufman said the Department of Libraries administers library purchasing but could use additional resources to update materials. "Please, please, please get us books into the — we really — the library is just pathetic," O'Brien reported participants asking during recent workshops.
Neither presenter proposed new legislation during the committee appearance. Kaufman and O'Brien offered to provide additional details and follow-up information to the committee, and they left contact materials and copies of the Vermont Reads title at committee members' desks.
Committee staff scheduled a joint meeting with the House Judiciary Committee the following day; presenters said they would be available for further questions and to provide program materials.
