Category: Writing

As John J. Lennon begins the 215th month of his prison sentence, he ponders where he might be in 2029 in an essay for New York Magazine’s “The Future Issue.”

In an article for The Atlantic, John J. Lennon explores how Joe Biden’s 1994 crime bill affected prison education through the tale of Twist, a fellow inmate at Sing Sing.

In an essay for the Washington Post Magazine, John reflects on difficult it is to say sorry to victims and their families, and how those words may mean everything and still not be enough.

In an essay for Esquire, John J. Lennon writes of the suicides behind bars that we never hear about, and why they’re much more common than we think.

In an essay for New York Review, John J. Lennon considers the legacy of the bestselling author and twice-convicted killer Jack Abbott and its relevance to his own career as an incarcerated writer.

As John J. Lennon writes in an article for Men’s Health, he is one of roughly two million men doing hard time around the country for whom strength is both physical and mental, survival and salvation. So he works out. Hard. Every day.

In a piece for Pacific Standard, John J. Lennon writes how he has seen firsthand how music can restore what’s missing in prison: a respect for humanity.

In a piece written with The Marshall Project co-founder Bill Keller for New York Magazine, John describes how Andrew Goldstein’s crime set in motion a dramatic shift in how we care for the violent mentally ill. Including for himself — when he’s released this month.

In an essay for NiemanStoryboard, John J. Lennon — a convicted murderer — shares what he learned about writing, and what writing taught him about himself and about the power of true stories.

In an article for The Chronicle of Higher Education, John profiles three fellow prisoners at Sing Sing who chose to educate themselves — and pay it forward as a sort of healing.