SpeakOut! Journal - Fall 2023 / Spring 2024 - The Soul Speaks

Sep 16, 2026

Uploaded by Jiven

SpeakOut! Journal presents community writing shaped through weekly workshops across Larimer County Community Corrections/Work Release, Larimer County Probation, Harvest Farms, and Aspen Ridge Recovery. The issue foregrounds the collaborative spirit of writers, facilitators, and site partners, highlighting how each piece grows from personal experience, joy, hope, and also memory, injustice, and grief. An introduction frames every book as having a soul, inviting readers to engage with tenderness and compassion.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryPresentations

FormatPDF

Pages141

Reading Time49 min

AccessFree to download

INTRODUCTION

A community of writers and workshops

Invitation to read with tenderness

Submission information

SpeakOut! The Soul Speaks Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 Director Tobi Jacobi Associate Director and Journal Editor Mary Ellen Sanger Cover Art Allie Back Cover Art The Women of Community Corrections/Work Release Community Literacy Center Campus Delivery 1773 346A Eddy Hall, Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO 80523 [clc@colostate.edu](clc@colostate.edu)[ ](clc@colostate.edu)970-491-7251 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank volunteer facilitators who developed creative workshops to inspire the writing on the following pages. We were supported by site partners and staff at Larimer County Community Corrections and Work Release, Harvest Farm, and Aspen Ridge Recovery, and our new satellite site at Larimer County Probation, where SpeakOut! participated with writers in weekly circles of creativity. Huge thanks to facilitators Braden Bomgaars, Arabella Blaskovic, Juliette Dash, Amber Wright, Mary Kusbel, Alexa Holmes, Cailee Chapman, Rajasvi Gandhi, Kelly O’Brien, Chantal Bouveron, Mandy Gonzales, Hutchie Thomas, Jamie Suto, and Robin Walter, as well as Erica Kramer with the new satellite SpeakOut! with Larimer County Probation. We also recognize the CSU English Department and College of Liberal Arts for providing staff and material support. Weare grateful for Top Hat whose support makes the distribution of SpeakOut! writers’ words possible. Our collaboration with Poudre River Public Library District is essential in demonstrating the enlivening connections made with community through reading/writing. Names in bold above are CLC interns during Fall 2023 and Spring 2024. Interns are an integral part of the success of the CLC. In addition to regular workshops, readings, meetings, projects, and assignments, interns presented various pop-up displays and workshops during FoCo BookFest and beyond. Their belief in their mission, themselves, and the cause of creativity and connection is an inspiring model for engagement. SpeakOut! Fall 2023/Spring 2024 I TABLE OF CONTENTS Albert Albert S. Allie Angelo Bernie Z. Brandon G. 9 26 1, 32 11, 22, 23, 40 18, 31, 36 15, 27, 41, 80, 86, 92, 103, 108, 114, 117 Brandon M. 16 Brian 2, 118, 126 Brie 10 Cam Ghostman 21 Cowboy 19, 28, 88, 96 Dutch 5, 7, 25, 81, 99, Erik Peters Gato Negro James R. Jer Bear JR L.B. 100, 105, 111, 113, 124, 127 8, 24 4, 90, 112 35, 82, 93, 98, 107, 110 17, 29, 37, 83, 89, 94 38 14, 43, 104 Leo G. 102 Lil Bit 12, 84, 119 Louie Kind 30 OMNIRHEO 97, 109, 115 Rubix 20, 116 Sage 6, 44, 79, 87, 91, 95, 106 Sean S. 122 Sunny 34 Tiffany R. 42 Victor 120 SpeakOut! Collaborations 45 SpeakOut! Notes: New Workshop at Larimer County Probation 74 A Peek inside a SpeakOut! Women’s Workshop 76 Map of a SpeakOut! Workshop: Prompts 78 SpeakOut! Fall 2023/Spring 2024 III Iv SpeakOut! Fall 2023/Spring 2024 INTRODUCTION “Every book, every volume you see here, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it. Every time a book changes hands, everytime someone runs his eyes down its pages, its spirit grows and strengthens.” Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Shadow of the Wind The writing contained in this SpeakOut! issue was not generated ina vacuum. Every piece grew from a writer touched by their world. They echo with the inexhaustible material of loved ones’ laughs, but also memories writers would often rather forget. They are interwoven with fragments of joy and hope, but also remnants of injustice and grief. Each piece is as complex and multifaceted as the writers’divergent stories that coalesced to create them. It’s in the overlaps and intersections of these stories that this journal presents a uniquely beautiful collection of writing: souls speaking, growing, and living. The work featured here is the product of weekly SpeakOut! writing workshops conducted across Larimer County Community Corrections/Work Release, Larimer Co

FAQs

What is the purpose of SpeakOut! Journal in this issue?

The journal showcases a collection of community writing developed through weekly SpeakOut! workshops, emphasizing creative spaces for writers and the connections fostered through reading and writing.

Where were the SpeakOut! writing workshops conducted?

Workshops were conducted across Larimer County Community Corrections/Work Release, Larimer County Probation, Harvest Farms, and Aspen Ridge Recovery.

How does the introduction describe each book or piece in the journal?

The introduction presents every book as having a soul—reflecting both the writer’s spirit and the spirit of those who read, live with, and dream through it.

Sep 16, 2026

Uploaded by Jiven