Between the Bars (blog)
Encyclopedia
Between the Bars is an American blog
that publishes letters from people held in prison in the United States. The open-source blog platform was developed by Charlie DeTar. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology
hosts the website.
The project attempts to provide a communication channel for prisoners who lack access to the internet. Prisoners write letters and send them by postal mail to MIT. Volunteers at MIT then digitize each page and post them on the website in PDF format
. As of September 2011, the blog has received, scanned, and posted letters from some 275 inmates in Delano, California
; Raiford, Florida
; Missouri
; New Boston, Texas
; Walla Walla, Washington
; Boscobel, Wisconsin
; and elsewhere in the U.S.
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
that publishes letters from people held in prison in the United States. The open-source blog platform was developed by Charlie DeTar. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
hosts the website.
The project attempts to provide a communication channel for prisoners who lack access to the internet. Prisoners write letters and send them by postal mail to MIT. Volunteers at MIT then digitize each page and post them on the website in PDF format
Portable Document Format
Portable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
. As of September 2011, the blog has received, scanned, and posted letters from some 275 inmates in Delano, California
Delano, California
Delano's climate is characteristic of the San Joaquin Valley. The weather is hot and dry during the summer and cool and damp in winter. Frequent ground fog known regionally as "tule fog" can obscure vision. Record temperatures range between 115°F and 14°F...
; Raiford, Florida
Raiford, Florida
Raiford is a town in Union County, Florida, United States. The population was 187 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S...
; Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
; New Boston, Texas
New Boston, Texas
New Boston is a city in Bowie County, Texas, United States. It was named after an early store keeper, W.J. Boston. It is part of the Texarkana, Texas - Texarkana, Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
; Walla Walla, Washington
Walla Walla, Washington
Walla Walla is the largest city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. The population was 31,731 at the 2010 census...
; Boscobel, Wisconsin
Boscobel, Wisconsin
Boscobel is a city in Grant County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,047 at the 2000 census. Approximately 0.6 mi. to the north of the city, across a riparian swamp, is the Wisconsin River. U.S. Route 61 crosses the Wisconsin River at Boscobel. To the south, the city is...
; and elsewhere in the U.S.
Further reading
- Sebastian Matkey. Blogging Behind Bars: How Prison Blogs Revived Prison Literature in the United States. Munich: GRIN Verlag, 2011