Our Mission and Vision
“I AM ABLE TO LOOK AT DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES. NOT JUST WHAT IT WAS, BUT WHAT IT COULD BE.”
READING BETWEEN THE LINES CREATES A UNIQUE SPACE FOR JUSTICE IMPACTED PEOPLE TO EXERCISE CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS VIA LITERATURE AND OTHER ARTS.
THE READING BETWEEN THE LINES STORY BEGAN IN 2013 WITH ONE GOAL: TO EQUIP PEOPLE, MADE INVISIBLE TO THE WORLD BY INCARCERATION, WITH TOOLS TO REJOIN SOCIETY. OUR NOVEL APPROACH IS GROUNDED IN LITERATURE, OFFERING POWERFUL TEXTS ACCOMPANIED BY QUESTIONS FOR WHICH THERE IS NO “RIGHT” ANSWER. PARTICIPANTS PRACTICE INTERPRETING A READING, LISTENING CAREFULLY TO OTHERS’ VIEWS AND ARTICULATING THEIR OWN—SKILLS INVALUABLE AS THEY RETURN TO FAMILY, COMMUNITY AND WORK.
SINCE PILOTING THE PROGRAM AT ONE HALFWAY HOUSE ON CHICAGO’S WEST SIDE, WE HAVE SEEN THESE SKILLS DEVELOP ACROSS HUNDREDS OF SESSIONS AT MULTIPLE SITES.
TODAY WE ARE SURPASSING OUR INITIAL SKILL-BUILDING GOALS: WE NOW TRAIN—AND PAY—PARTICIPANTS TO BECOME DISCUSSION LEADERS!
AND THE READING BETWEEN THE LINES REPERTOIRE HAS GROWN. IT BOASTS NEARLY 60 READINGS AND DISCUSSION GUIDES, WITH AUTHORS RANGING FROM THE CLASSIC TO THE CONTEMPORARY. GENRES INCLUDE POETRY, SHORT STORIES, ESSAYS, MEMOIRS, SPEECHES AND HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS.
Reading Between the Lines Session