Erin Sapp

Lyrical Vagabonds Erin Sapp

It all began with a simple question from one prisoner to another: what's a sonnet? Matt (the guy who knew about such things) started to explain, "A sonnet is a poem with 14 lines - three quatrains and a couplet, with a rhyme scheme." Seeing the other prisoner's eyes glaze over, Matt changed course, "Tell you what," he said, "why don't we just write one." Within a year, the entire prison was infected with the poetry bug. Even the administration got involved, sponsoring a year of poetry classes followed by a poetry slam. The core group took to calling themselves the Lyrical Vagabonds, partly in homage to the seminal work "Lyrical Ballads" by Wordsworth and Coleridge. Now the Vagabonds want to share their unique creative endeavor with the world by publishing a collection of their best work - with a twist. Instead of merely publishing this interesting poetry they will also publish new art and poems inspired by one another in a never-before-seen synergism. Please, help these men share their amazing and unique journey to light in the midst of darkness with the larger world. The book features poetry and artwork by Nathan Ybanez - sentenced to juvenile life without parole in CO in 1998 - as well as the art and poetry of other inmates at Sterling Correctional Facility in Sterling, CO.