The following set of blog posts summarizes the work I have done with an organization called Changing Lives Through Literature (CLTL). This second post, “Interview with Ken,” highlights the unique interview I conducted while at Boston’s Dorchester Court House. I believe a program similar to CLTL could succeed in Canada, but it will require a great deal of lobbying and effort by committed individuals. Now that I am finished my Master of Arts degree, perhaps I will begin this process.
Ken
Built in Boston’s densely populated inner city, the Dorchester men’s CLTL program is by far the largest, graduating a cohort of 37 men last year and requiring a staff of eight, including two English professors (Taylor Stoehr and Bert Stern), three to four probation officers, a judge, and two former program participants. The class meets for ten weekly sessions of ninety minutes each and uses Frederick Douglass’ Narrative of the Life of an American Slave as a primary text. Ken is a graduate from that large cohort who promptly arrived to meet me at the Dorchester District Courthouse to cover for a last minute interview cancellation.
When asked about his experience in CLTL, Ken particularly appreciated the feedback he received on written assignments:
[CLTL] opened up my way of thinking a whole lot differently. I found myself writing about stuff that I wasn’t even thinking about. And the more I wrote, once I started writing I couldn’t stop. . . Taylor, when he used to give us comments, he said I got a knack for [writing]. Now I want to write my own autobiography one day . . . [Taylor] gave me a lot of input and he gave me some places where I can go if I want to go to school, you know? Like, who to contact for loans or whatever . . . after you graduate you get this booklet, when they read it, they was like, wow man you got some talent . . . [Taylor and Bert] knew I had a real talent in writing, and Taylor he really made me feel good, his comments . . . I felt real good about myself after that.
When asked whether or not CLTL changed his opinions of other people, Ken recalled being struck by a story the presiding judge told during a group session:
We had a judge there, and he made a movie, a documentary about his father. About how him and his father didn’t really get along, and his father was a just a provider and this and that, but there was no connection. And we talked about how a male child needs is his father; even though a girl needs her father too. So, we touched a lot of subjects like that. Which was good because like I said it opened up different avenues of my mind. You know what I’m saying? My brain. Where before I wouldn’t even think of something like that. I started writing you know and I enjoy it . . .
Aside from the interaction between the instructors and students, that he and his classmates mainly agreed to 
take CLTL to get six months taken off of their probation:
Some dudes told stories about how what his father did to him to make him do what he’s doing and how he was sleeping in abandoned buildings, and his alcoholism and things like that . . . A lot of people had a lot of different stories. And I think they felt the same way that I felt: that they didn’t realize that they was going to be talking about this stuff. You know what I’m saying? You know, like you going in and you’re like, I’m just going to read some books. But a lot of people opened up.
Ken’s statements reveal that, along with literature, writing, and the facilitators, interactions between class participants are another important part of CLTL. Ken’s indication that “they felt the same way that I felt” indicates sentiments of empathy amongst the group.
My next post will summarize my interview with former CLTL participant, Sheila. Please leave comments or check other posts I’ve written for the CLTL blog, Changing Lives Changing Minds:
Book Review: “Missing Sarah” by Maggie de Vries
Has the Torch Been Passed? A Review of the 2008 Annual Conference
A Different Light: Report from the 2009 Changing Lives Through Literature Conference
Starting and Maintaining a CLTL Juvenile Program: An Interview with Michael Habib
