Storytelling has the power to transcend barriers, even prison walls. Meet Cassandra Lewis, an award-winning writer whose creative journey illuminates how literature can build bridges where society often constructs divides.

When Lewis began mentoring through PEN America’s Prison and Justice Writing Program, she expected to guide an incarcerated writer. What emerged instead was a profound partnership with Geneva Phillips, an accomplished writer whose memoir and poetry had already garnered recognition. Their exchange of letters evolved beyond writing critique into a friendship that transformed Lewis’s own creative work. Through Phillips’ guidance, Lewis finally unlocked a personal manuscript she’d struggled with for years—a testament to mentorship’s reciprocal nature.

The conversation explores how incarcerated writers consistently return to themes of community and connection in their work. As Lewis describes it, these narratives reveal the resilience of the human spirit in maintaining relationships despite systematic attempts to sever them. Yet practical obstacles abound: mail digitization means incarcerated people never touch original letters from loved ones; censorship creates communication uncertainty; and unexpected facility transfers can abruptly end friendships without goodbyes.

Lewis’s own creative work sits at the intersection of arts and advocacy. Her fellowship-funded play examines extreme sentencing through the story of an estranged grandmother and granddaughter reconnecting across prison barriers. Rather than providing easy answers, Lewis uses storytelling to explore complex questions about criminal justice, mental health systems, and human connection. “Great storytelling inspires conversation,” Lewis explains, “and that’s how things get started, that’s how things get moving.”

For writers considering similar mentorship programs, Lewis emphasizes the importance of literary citizenship—supporting other writers and participating in the ongoing conversation of ideas. Her experience with PEN America surpassed all expectations, personally and professionally transforming both mentor and mentee.

Ready to discover how storytelling can build empathy and inspire change? Listen now to this thought-provoking conversation about writing, justice, and the power of human connection.