Wednesday, September 13, 2017
Chandra Bozelko often is called the new “Orange Is the New Black.” As a graduate of Princeton University who was in the middle of postgraduate study when she was arrested, she was an unlikely inmate. “Orange Is the New Black” is a TV series about a woman who struggles to adapt to life in prison. Chandra served more than six years at the York Correctional Institution, Connecticut’s only women’s prison, for several non-violent crimes that remain on appeal. While she was incarcerated, she published a book of poetry, Up the River: An Anthology. Chandra was the first inmate to write a newspaper column from behind bars, called “Prison Diaries.” The column is now is a blog that updates weekly with a new “diary” entry. “Prison Diaries” was honored by the Webby Awards and won first place in the National Society of Newspaper Columnists’ annual contest in 2016. While she was incarcerated and since her release, Chandra has established herself as a thought leader on issues related to criminal justice reform. Her written commentary has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, USA Today, US News and World Report, The Washington Post, Quartz, The Guardian, The Huffington Post, The Hartford Courant, The Baltimore Sun and several other publications. In January 2017, Chandra was granted a John Jay/Harry Frank Guggenheim Criminal Justice Reporting Fellowship to work on indigent defense under the new presidential administration. Chandra lives in Connecticut.
Arranged by David Mace
You can read her blog at:
Prison-Diaries.com
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i45PMdSyeM4&feature=em-upload_owner