Reading by J. D. Mathes

J. D. Mathes from our Winter Special Issue, INCARCERATION & FAMILY, reads his essay “Momma Tried”:

Video recorded and edited by Mathes.

J. D. Mathes grew up a feral child in the deserts of the American Southwest who loved to read library books. He is a PEN America Writing for Justice Fellow, the result of which is Of Time and Punishment: A Memoir, forthcoming October 28, 2025. Other books of his include Ahead of the Flaming Front: A Life on Fire, an essay collection Fever and Guts: A Symphony, The Journal West: Poems, and Shipwrecks and Other Stories. Among things he’s done to support his writing and two daughters have been a wildland firefighter on a helicopter-rappel crew, oilfield chemist, and logistics at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica, where he led the Southernmost Writers Workshop in the World. www.jdmathes.com.