In an hour of poetry, storytelling, and music, Ian Manuel performs the story of his unique and uncommon life. Now an accomplished poet, Ian was 13 years old when he was directed by older juveniles to commit a robbery. During the botched robbery attempt, Ian shot a woman who suffered a nonfatal wound. Ian turned himself in to the police and was charged as an adult with armed robbery and attempted murder. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole where he spent the next 26 years – 18 of them in solitary confinement.

Since his release, Ian has spoken and performed his poetry to a myriad of audiences at Carnegie Hall, The Public Theater, NYU Law, Florida State University, and Alabama University, among others. Ian’s poetry has been studied at both Butler University and the School of Visual Arts in NYC, and his poem “Uncried Tears” was featured in the best-selling book Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. In 2017, Ian was the first unpublished writer ever to be granted a MacDowell Colony Fellowship. His memoir was published this past May by Pantheon, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Ian is a current Art For Justice Fellow, and works as Program Manager of Culture Change at the New York City Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice.

Photo courtesy the artist.