Tommy Trantino on Perseverance and Protest

Ask Tommy Trantino to describe himself, and he may simply respond, “endless.” Ask him the same question on another day, and the answer will be different. For Trantino, it’s complicated. Officially, he writes, draws, and paints. But he also loves to make people laugh, and his mission is to do as much good as possible. Incarcerated for nearly 40 years in New Jersey, the New York City native was placed on death row in 1963 before his sentence was commuted to life once the death penalty became illegal in the early 1970s. During those years in Trenton State Prison’s Death House, Trantino was inspired to start painting, and eventually found his way to writing. Among several attempts to get him released, his supporters collected some of his work for a book, published by Knopf in 1974 as Lock the Lock. Long out of print, Lock the Lock is a constellation of Trantino’s artistry, but it is also an introduction for how he experienced the world on death row. Nearly half a century later, the same rings true. Trantino’s zest for life and goodwill guides his creative process much in the same way that his defiance and activism led him to survive incarceration.

In the latest episode of PEN America’s Works of Justice podcast, Jess Abolafia, program assistant, and Malcolm Tariq, senior manager of editorial projects—both of PEN America’s Prison and Justice Writing Program—speak with Trantino about his time organizing inside prison, how he started making art, and the production of Lock the Lock. In her accompanying introduction to the podcast, Abolafia gives more context on Trantino’s background and describes how their first meeting led to an ongoing creative partnership.