The author describes his experience teaching a writing group in Martin Tennessee jail. The faces of most of the inmates showed curiosity. Each was saying not in words, but by gesture, "help make better this boring existence." The first essays the inmates wrote were about themselves and other members of their family. Some have written about failed marriages and separation from their children. The only Mexican in the class wrote about his family in Nuevo Leon and about a cold snap that destroyed the region's entire orange crop a few years ago. Others have written about hobbies they enjoyed pursuing when they were free. Some of the inmates are preparing to take the GED exam and are getting extra opportunities to practice their writing skills. He stresses that perhaps the opportunity to write about themselves and other subjects meaningful to them in an environment conducive to honest and sincere expression will contribute in a small way to the rehabilitation of these few inmates in a small county jail.