Every Rosebud Blooms: The Collective Giving Rikers a Story of Its Own

The concept of education, literary spaces, and creative writing programs isn't new for those in confinement, in prison, or held with no return to the real world. These spaces open up new creativity, new ideas, and a new type of freedom for those who thought they would never have it again, across the globe. Various reading programs and book collection centers give back to incarcerated people who have no resources to obtain books, literature, or writing materials. One of those is the Rosebuds Reading Collective, a women-dedicated reading community founded by Nora Fried and Julia Fox.

The founders introduce this collective as a way to make space for those who are often overlooked. They've been featured in magazines, the New York Times, and, most recently, ABC 7 New York for their outstanding work, efforts, and dedication to collecting, distributing, and holding book clubs for those incarcerated at Rikers. The idea started small and has since evolved; they've given over 1,000 books and hold biweekly sessions.

The name comes from the origins of the place it all started: the Rose M. Singer Center, named after the longtime jail reform activist and one of the first members of the New York City Board of Correction. According to Urban Archive New York, it opened on June 20, 1988, and was a brand-new $100 million jail facility specifically for women on Rikers Island. In this same center decades later, Nora walked through the doors with books in hand and claims six people showed up to her first-ever session. Fried says, "Rosebuds began as an idea I couldn't let go of during a time when life felt impossible."

Yet as the collective grew, more partners pitched in. Such as Julia Fox, known for her acting, modeling, and as the recent author of Down the Drain. She joined the team as a founder and has since been the creative director for the organization, giving new ideas and life to a solution that has been long overdue. Her reasoning for being so passionate about this stems from "What happens when someone is truly seen and given the space to imagine a different version of themselves? When they're not just viewed as a number in the system?"

Afrika Owes, is the final founding member. One with the experience to help give a first-hand perspective as to what creative spaces should look like within jail systems, as she was once incarcerated herself. She spent time at Rikers in 2011 and has since become an attorney and now helps the organization as the governance chair, stating, "Books were the first thing I requested when I was incarcerated, because even then I knew the mind has never needed permission to be free."

These three women have shown they are a force to be reckoned with within rehabilitation conversations. Their main program consists of author visits, writing sessions, and biweekly book clubs, giving new experiences each time, an opportunity, and another way of reclaiming power and identity through creativity, art, and knowledge. They also have their current reading list, which consists of memoirs, civil rights novels, and self-help books to give the participants a variety of well-rounded pieces of literature.

Each session has over 30 women participating with help from volunteers and those who have collected books for the women participating. They also work with direct donations from individuals, as well as local bookstores, to source most of their materials that might be extra, keeping things locally owned and supported. They ask anyone who would like to donate books or host a speaking session to reach out to them via email.