On a Saturday afternoon, students from a local high school volunteered at LGBT Books to Prisoners in Madison, WI.
They go through piles of letters from incarcerated LGBTQ+ people around the country. They've written requesting books their prison may not have. That could be books about sexual orientation and gender identity or other personal interests and entertainment.
Debbie Chaseman is a lead organizer of LGBT Books to Prisoners. She reads me a letter from someone named Stephen.
"'Dear friends, thank you for the books you sent out to me. I'm not big on novels, but I did enjoy the ones you sent to me. I did enjoy this art book you sent. I do love cartooning and art, you know, the ones you sent were great. What you do for people is a wonderful thing, love, Steven. P.S. I love Hanna Barbera, cartoons and Van Gogh,'" reads Chasmen. "So it's like a great. We interpret this request as they really want, like, more cartoon books. They have a broad interest in like Hanna Barbera, as well as Van Gogh."
Next, volunteers learn how to gather books and craft a thoughtful package to send back.
The books that volunteers send to LGBTQ+ incarcerated people are all donated or bought with donated funds.
Every week, Chasman says the group sends out eight to ten large bins of books around the country.
When all the materials have been assembled, a volunteer writes a note to the incarcerated person. Chaseman says it may be the only friendly personal connection they have from the outside.
Chasman reads, "Anya says 'Hi, Stephen. Thanks so much for writing to us again. I was able to find a couple of comics, a book on oil painting, a poetry book, and a book with some beautiful whale photos. I love your interest in art. Van Gogh is also one of my favorites from Anya volunteer.'"
Chaseman says it’s important to provide information to LGBTQ+ people who may feel isolated in prison.
She explains that the group gets a lot of requests from trans people in particular who want to know if there are other people like them.
"That is our focus is to provide resources to people who don't have access to it, and prison libraries generally do not have any queer materials. I know, especially during COVID people weren't allowed to go to the library, so access to information is really restricted," says Chasman.
Chaseman points out that it’s important to encourage agency in learning, especially for LGBTQ+ incarcerated people who may be in a hostile environment.
Hollis, an organizer with the group since 2018, agrees with Chaseman and adds people who aren't in prison may not realize how hard it is to obtain books you want to read behind bars.
Working for LGBT Books to prisoners has given Hollis, a trans man, a sense of service and community.
"So I think the main thing I get is being physically in community with people who share my politics, a place where being trans is par for the course. It feels very accepted here, so I really enjoy sharing that safe space with people and so that's what I'm getting from it," says Hollis.
Hollis says volunteering at LGBT Books to Prisoners can be a practical way to help provide information and connection to LGBTQ+ incarcerated people.
Hollis says everyone is welcome to drop into any of LGBT Books to prisoners volunteer sessions.
Support for the Eric Von Broadcast Fellowship is provided, in part, by Chris Abele.
