Welcome to the Community Literacy Center
Where communities of writers listen, write, and SpeakOut! to make every story count
I love creative writing and never have a chance to do it as a Bachelor of Science major. I always appreciate when writers share experiences and background from their personal lives that infuence their writing.
Student intern, Natural Resources
This learning process is not one-sided. I am encouraging the writers to explore various parts of themselves, and they are teaching me so much in the process. They put my in-class studies to practical use, and give me new, clearer lenses through which to see the world, our languages, and ourselves.
Student volunteer, English
We all have a story and everyone's scars are different. We sometimes don't have anyone to listen to our stories or writing, so it's nice to be heard and have programs like this for people who are incarcerated, so that we can voice our story, and others can listen.
Writer, Larimer County Jail (Men)
I love those moments when the room is completely silent, aside from the scratch of lead on paper. Silence enough to think clearly in here is uncommonly precious.
Writer, Larimer County Work Release
How we help
Studies show that literacy activities for confined populations help to address the hopelessness and powerlessness that may follow a person from before confinement, into their time inside, and after return to their community. Through writing, readings, and discussion, SpeakOut! facilitators write, listen, and grow with hundreds of confined writers each year, encouraging individual growth and civic engagement.
Some numbers
We made it through COVID with remote workshops and reduced numbers. We are hopeful that it won't be long until we are back at our pre-COVID numbers of:
12 workshops annually
20 student and community volunteers
Up to 250 writers each year
400 published pages of writing and art
What we need
We rely on donors and community partners to support and fund our work. We welcome those who share a commitment to creating space for the writing and circulating of stories that enrich our collective undrstanding of justice, joy, and change in the world.
CLC Featured Work
These Hands
Listen to this recording from 2014 — women in the Larimer County Jail recount all the wonderful, burdening, unburdening things that hands do.
Meet new CLC interns!
The CLC is ringing with enthusiasm as five new interns facilitate workshops in Larimer County Community Corrections, Acqua Recovery, and Harvest Farm. Take a few minutes to meet them here.
The CLC in the Rocky Mountain Collegian
Excerpt from recent article: “The writing contained in this SpeakOut! issue was not generated in a vacuum,” the introduction reads. “Every piece grew from a writer touched by their world. They echo with the inexhaustible material of loved ones’ laughs, but also memories writers would often rather forget. They are interwoven with fragments of joy […]
SpeakOut! 2025
Know a coffee shop that needs a few copies? A favorite hangout? A dentist’s office? Help us distribute SpeakOut! journals far and wide! Write us at clc@colostate.edu or stop by our office for a handful of copies!
CLC and the Poudre Library
CLC exhibits 20 years of writing and art in Old Town Poudre Library A new exhibition at the Old Town branch of Poudre Library represents the creative prowess of the hundreds of writers and artists who have participated in SpeakOut! community writing workshops since 2005. The words and artwork featured crisscross human experiences with […]
SpeakOut! travels!
Catch a glimpse of the 2023-2024 SpeakOut! journal in “little libraries” in Rossport, Ontario or Cody, Wyoming!
2023/2024 SpeakOut! journal arrives!
Get yours by writing clc@colostate.edu. Features writing from Aspen Ridge Recovery, Community Corrections and Work Release, and Harvest Farms PLUS our newest creative satellite group and Larimer County Probation!
Story Exchange Wall
Pop-up Story Exchange Wall at the FoCo Cafe sponsored by Braden, one of interns in the Community Literacy Center. Scroll through photos to see a close up!
Spring 2024 Newsletter
CLC in the community — Pop-ups around town — Spring Professional Development — Intern Insights (What Makes a Writer; Harmony in Words; Writing Across Difference) — Writing from Community Corrections — Opportunities to Volunteer/Intern See full online newsletter by clicking here.
Fall/Winter 2023 Newsletter
SpeakOut! by numbers, Fall 2023 — Insight from Interns (Reimagining Masculinity; Weaving Together the Words of Women; Creating a Space Where Writing Can Be Valuable) — Book Recommendation See full online newsletter by clicking here.