A Mic and Five Minutes

Some would say that storytelling is what makes us human. In this episode, we are going to hear some great stories.  We are heading to Oak Hill Correctional Facility, where the University of Wisconsin Odyssey Beyond Bars Project offers storytelling workshops each semester for incarcerated students who are in the English 101 course. This is UW-Madison’s first face-to-face credit-bearing course inside any Wisconsin state prison since 1917. We will hear from Peter Moreno, the founder and Director of the program, Kevin Mullen, who designed the curriculum and teaches the course, and Mark Español, a former student. And, we get to hear the story Mark told at the English 101 graduation inside Oak Hill!

Find episode extras, resources, and more information about Odyssey Beyond Bars and our guests on our website.

Voices in the episode:

• Mark Español is a DJ, artist, and barber currently living in Madison, after serving 9 years in prison. He is an alumnus of the University of Wisconsin Odyssey Project and Odyssey Beyond Bars.  
• Kevin Mullen is an Assistant Professor of Continuing Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Director of Adult Education for the UW Odyssey Project. Kevin’s academic work focuses on expanding access to higher education for low-income adult students from marginalized communities. In addition to the core Odyssey class, he teaches English 100 (Introduction to College Writing) courses for Odyssey alumni and incarcerated students in the Odyssey Beyond Bars program. Nothing makes him happier than seeing people pick up the mic and use their voices to impact the world around them.
• Peter Moreno is the Director of Odyssey Beyond Bars Director. He is an attorney and former clinical law professor at the University of Wisconsin and University of Washington, where he represented incarcerated clients in wrongful conviction cases.  He created the Odyssey Beyond Bars credit-bearing course program in 2018 and is thrilled to introduce students in prison to the transformative power of Odyssey courses.
• Dasha Kelly Hamilton is a writer, performance artist and creative change agent. She applies the creative process to facilitate dialogues around human and social wellness. She is the author of novels, poetry collections, spoken word albums, and a touring production called Makin’ Cake. She was Poet Laureate for both the City of Milwaukee and the State of Wisconsin. Her A Line Meant project is a statewide poetry exchange for traditional Wisconsin residents and residents of Wisconsin prisons.
• Adam Carr is a storyteller, artist, filmmaker, radio producer, urban explorer, community organizer and historian. He is also a lifelong Milwaukeean and works at the intersection of community and communication. He helped organize events to acknowledge the 50th anniversary of the open housing marches in Milwaukee and is the author of “Explore MKE: Your Neighborhood, Our City,” a children’s book made in collaboration with third graders. He works for the Milwaukee Parks Foundation as the Director of Strategic Partnerships.