Category: Writing

In a round-up article for The Morning News, John J. Lennon joins fellow journalists, writers and thinkers as they answer the question: What were the most important events of 2020, and what were the least?

In an article for Politico, John J. Lennon engages in a revealing Q&A conversation with former fellow inmate Lawrence Bartley about life after prison and his current work as the director of News Inside, a print publication distributed to 556 facilities in 40 states, in addition to the District of Columbia and Canada.

In this first-person account for New York Magazine, John J. Lennon recounts how an increasing number of his fellow prisoners tested positive for Covid. And then John himself was hit with a fever.

An advisor for the Prison Journalism Project, John J. Lennon shares his views on how to write well from behind bars with some key quotes from amazing people who have influenced his own work.

In an essay for Plough, John J. Lennon writes about a personal impasse: He’s built a career as a journalist and writer, and it may look like redemption on the outside, but it doesn’t feel like it on the inside.

In collaboration with The Marshall Project and The Atlantic, John J. Lennon writes from the point of view of Dino Caroselli, an elderly prisoner at Sing Sing.

In an article for Esquire, John describes how Sing Sing prepared — and how it didn’t — and the impact the novel coronavirus is having on the day-to-day life of the prisoners.

In his latest piece for Esquire, John J. Lennon explores the way inmates define their own personal style — wearing brands like Polo Ralph Lauren, Cartier, and Lacoste — in the joint. It’s a look at prison swagger and what it means.

In an article for Sports Illustrated John J. Lennon explores our shared humanity — our drive to escape, to get knocked down, stand back up, and win – through an exploration of sports betting behind bars.

In his essay published by The Poetry Foundation, John J. Lennon offers his thoughts on Reginald Dwayne Betts’s collection of poems, Felon. After reading John’s piece Betts tweeted, “I’m certain no one has written anything about my writing and life that as hit me so hard in the gut.”