SALT LAKE CITY — An unlikely group of Utah men are members of a book club that meets in an unconventional place.
Back in 2019, just three people showed up to the Utah Prison Education Project’s first book club. On Thursday, the room is filled with dynamic discussions from people of all different backgrounds.
“We used to have 14 in this group, but then one of them made parole, so he’s out,” said book club host Elliot Morris.
Elliot Morris talking to book club members and getting ready for the meeting. (Shelby Lofton, KSL TV)
Each semester, the group votes on a theme. This fall, the theme is “Deseret Dreamers,” featuring authors with Utah ties.
“We had one group that was called “Rereading the Past,” Morris said. “It’s interpretations of older stories, historical fiction, spy fiction, female writers of mystery and suspense.”
They’ve invited several authors to the classroom at the prison where they meet.
“It’s really been so dynamic and fun,” Morris said. “The readers are so excited; they get their books autographed, and they can ask questions.”
Todd Robert Petersen, wearing black, talking to book club members about his book. (Shelby Lofton, KSL TV)
Cedar City-based author Todd Robert Petersen drove north to join the readers at their meeting on Oct. 24.
“You drive by these buildings if you don’t have a reason to come in them, and you can just rely on television, movies for what people are going to tell you about what’s happening in here, but getting to spend an hour and a half, a couple hours in here, meeting real people changes everything,” Petersen said.
The group discussed his book, “Picnic in the Ruins.”
“We select a discussion leader, so someone in the group, they’re going to read the book and they’re going to come up with a question for the group and share a quote that they really like from the book and why they liked it, and then a scene that they want to discuss in the book that they felt was significant,” Morris said.
This week’s discussion leader, “Craig” escaped to the dry desert of southern Utah while reading.
“Having new books in here is like a treasure for a lot of guys,” he said.
The club relies on donations to get copies of each book, and once the club is finished with them, those books are donated to the prison’s library.
Craig has been coming to the book club since it started. He said the number of people interested in attending this particular meeting could easily have filled the prison chapel.
“A lot of people haven’t read a book since high school,” Morris said. “We do have people who have master’s degrees and are avid readers and read outside of the book club, but then we also have people who are like, ‘I would love to read, I just don’t know where to start.’”
Todd Robert Petersen, wearing black, talking to book club members about his book. (Shelby Lofton, KSL TV)
The men at this meeting brought notes, questions and their annotated copies of the book to the meeting. In between dialogue over pirates and federal lands was curiosity and comradery.
“I was so impressed with how carefully they had read it and how carefully so many of them had researched the issues that the book brings up,” Petersen said.
Morris said the members come for different reasons.
“I think we do a disservice when we remove opportunities to read, whether it’s for escape or to see things from a different perspective, or to gain sympathy or empathy,” he said. “I think every person should always have that opportunity.”
In written statements submitted to KSL TV, club members shared how the book club has impacted them.
“When I found myself in solitary, reading books were my escape that helped me get through my hard times,” said “Daniel”, incarcerated at the prison.
Another reader named “Nick” wrote, “I loved to read as a young kid, but I lost that passion for reading as I got older. I have rediscovered it here and I will continue to read even after I am released.”
Philip said the book club is a place where he can work on his public speaking and hear different perspectives.
“We tend to suffer from groupthink in here and many of us don’t get the opportunity or support to develop our own voices or allow others a space to develop theirs,” he wrote.
Morris said the book club loves it when visitors join their conversations.
“We love it when people come in to visit, because I think it does demystify,” he said. “There is a lot of preconceived notions or ideas of the kind of people you meet in here.”
Petersen said his experience was different from what he had anticipated.
“I like to let these people know and hear that they are valued and they are valuable, and that they are capable of change and learning and that they should be pursuing learning if they want to,” Morris said.
To read more about the club’s meetings, read Morris’ blog post here.
This post was originally published on here
