Judith Tannenbaum .. I began teaching at San Quentin in 1985. So we've known each other now for more than seventeen years. I've known Spoon through his presence in our class - where he said barely a word and sat in a half-circle of chairs he made near the doorway; through our one-on-one talks about poems, spirit, heart and life's walk between "darkness and light;" through his participation in the production of "Waiting for Godot" Jan Jonson directed at Quentin in 1988; through years now of writing letters and prison visits. Spoon calls me his "big sister" and his "mentor." I call him "friend" and "brother of my soul." Early on Spoon and I recognized each other: a shyness we shared, a passion for what Spoon calls "diving" -- deep exploration into matters of spirit, and gratitude for the gift of expression. Spoon and I have shared hope, despair, anger, joy, presence and
absence. We do our best to be true allies for each other on our
separate journeys, "one foot in darkness, one foot in light,"
as Spoon so beautifully puts it. Read an article published
on Prisonwall's website
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