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Mark Nowak’s books include Shut Up Shut Down, Coal Mountain Elementary, and Social Poetics, all from Coffee House Press. A revised and expanded edition of writings from the Attica poetry workshops of Celes Tisdale (1972–74) includes his introduction. A native of Buffalo, Nowak is the founding director of the Worker Writers School.
When Celes Tisdale led poetry workshops at Attica State Prison, soon after the 1971 uprising, some of the prisoners were still recovering from gunshots.
Vijay Prashad on writing, struggle, and hope in difficult times.
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For National Poetry Month, sign up for our newsletter and get a digital copy of our out-of-print chapbook Poems for Political Disaster.