Poetry as a Tool for Creating Community: A Behind Bars Experience | Circle Up Austin | August 2026 Summit Event
Updated: Aug 27
A video replay of this event is available here:
Part of the Poetic Medicine Summit 2026 year-long series
The Expressive Art of Poetry
Saturday, August 22, 2026
9:00 am - 11:00 pm Pacific Time
Almost everyone experiences moments of loneliness and disconnection at some point in life, but few know the year-after-year isolation of incarceration.
Using the Poetry As a Tool For Wellness format, this interactive workshop will utilize the same exercise Circle Up has created to help justice-impacted individuals in Central Texas women’s prisons build community behind the bars that separate them from the rest of the world.
“[PATFW] is not just a class, it is a moment of healing and learning that you are not alone. You learn to love yourself for you. It might seem like you can't do it but you can. It doesn't have to be perfect or professional. It just has to come from the heart.”
- Incarcerated Participant of PATFW at the Lane Murray Unit, Spring 2024
Join us to experience how healing poetry can be used in other groups to build community, as it has in Central Texas women’s prisons.
Circle Up is a small, grassroots collective that serves justice-involved individuals by providing curricula focused on healing trauma, fostering emotional wellness, and building safe community. The courses we offer provide educational materials and creative tools for personal growth in a non-faith-based environment where all are welcome. Circle Up has been facilitating PATFW in women’s prisons in Central Texas since the Spring of 2024.
To learn more or get involved reach out directly to Circle Up Austin at CircleUpOffice@gmail.com.
Meet your Facilitators:
Carol Waid (she/her), Tina Williams (she/her) & Julie Wylie (she/her) are trained PATFW facilitators with a combined 53 years of serving this unique population.
Poetic Medicine Summit 2026
To learn more about the full Summit 2026 series of events visit: https://www.poeticmedicine.org/summit2026
We would love to have you be in the circle with us. Come on your own or bring a friend! Sponsorship opportunities are available.
We hope that you will be able to join us for one or more of these upcoming events!
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