Bronx poet Wilfredo Laracuente awarded prize by the Mayor’s office for poem on life after incarceration

Now, the Soundview native is being recognized for that transformation. Laracuente was recently named one of three winners of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice “Next Verse: Voices for Change” poetry contest, earning a $500 prize for his response to the prompt, “Who benefited when I changed?”

The citywide contest invited New Yorkers to reflect on public safety, healing and personal transformation through poetry.

For Laracuente, the answer was deeply personal.

“My writing has become a way for me to explore that transformation, as well as my own identity and my human capacity to change,” he said.

The contest itself was born from a similar story of transformation. Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice Programs Manager Ian Manuel, who conceived “Next Verse,” spent 26 years in prison—nearly two decades of it in solitary confinement. 

“Poetry saved my life,” Manuel said in a statement.  “That’s what inspired me to help create MOCJ’s Next Verse poetry contest — to be a conduit for New Yorkers to not only express their creativity but share their ideas about safety and the change they want to see in our city.” 

Like Manuel, Laracuente hopes his writing offers a window into what life can look like after incarceration.

“I feel that a person shouldn’t be defined by one single moment in their lives,” he said. “I expressed that through the power of writing… to show redemption and what’s possible if you believe in second chances.”

Born and raised in Soundview, Laracuente said he came from humble beginnings. At 25, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted of second-degree murder.

Although he had always enjoyed writing, Laracuente said higher education helped him sharpen his voice. Inspired by writers such as Nelson Mandela and Che Guevara, he came to see writing as more than creative expression—it could also challenge injustice and reshape public perception.

Among the books that most influenced him were Tom Wicker’s “A Time to Die” about the Attica prison uprising, and Michelle Alexander’s “The New Jim Crow.”

“It kind of molded and shaped how I wanted to come out and attack the system from the outside in,” he said.

While incarcerated at Green Haven Correctional Facility, Laracuente paid for correspondence courses using wages he earned through Corcraft and financial support from his family. After transferring to Sing Sing Correctional Facility, he enrolled in the Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison program, where he earned an associate degree in science in 2019 and a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2020.

The coursework matched the rigor of classes offered to students outside prison, he said, but completing it behind bars presented unique challenges. Facility schedules, inmate counts, movement restrictions and limited access to the computer lab often interrupted his studies. Most of his papers were typed on an electric typewriter with only a single line of text visible at a time.

Still, Laracuente remained focused on the future.

“I was kind of trying to figure out what that exit plan was going to be, and I started to see that writing became something that was easy to me, and it became a passion of mine,” he said. “As long as you can apply yourself and develop that resiliency, you learn how to keep moving forward despite the obstacles.”

After returning home in 2021, Laracuente put that education into practice. He now works as a reentry practitioner, helping people returning from incarceration rebuild their lives through workforce development and mentorship. He also writes “From Inside to Impact,” a LinkedIn newsletter read not only by formerly incarcerated people, but also by correctional professionals, criminologists and policymakers.

“A lot of times I’ve already done a lot of destruction in my community, and now it’s time to create in my community,” he said. “That comes with modeling and mentorship. I started focusing on the value that I could bring, not only to myself but to others.”

For Laracuente, writing is more than an art form—it is a way to challenge the stigma surrounding incarceration and offer others hope.

“I like to show people the unique perspective of what life’s like through the lens of someone who’s been incarcerated,” he said. “I want to show what happens after the shame disappears, when you’re able to tell your story in a safe space. For me, that’s through poetry.”