I write to extend feedback – re: your monthly paper. I must say that it was with more than the usual measuring spoon of interest that most here @ MRC welcomed its arrival. Upon finding it in our respective mailboxes, it caused a stir. A tad like the discovery of gold in Ballarat: a freakin buzz!
Some leafed the pages; quietly absorbed by its content. Some flocked together applauding the contents. A small, tidy group of Indigenous fellas loudly (and proudly!) celebrated the inclusion of the artwork of a dear friend of mine Chris at the top, right corner of page 11. In short, conversation thrived! The overall reaction across the board: favourable!
Could it be I’m ‘reading’ too much into it, if you'll pardon the intended pun? Nay, say I. For the reason is simple. For most of us, About Time rekindles the hearth flames of hope…. and solidarity.
It also served as a semi-tabloid sized platform many choose to use as a way of expressing the beauty they've shielded within since time immemorial.
This beauty, be it artistic or linguistic, or even just humanistic, will finally sprout from the nutrient-poor soil of imprisonment.
As one of the two peer educators for both Burnside & Belbridge at MRC, I interact with dozens of inmates daily. Without reservations, I can say your paper has had a positive influence on all and sundry. And that’s tickety-boo!! Quite soon, I imagine you’ll be navigating a flood of correspondence into all areas of expression you graciously invite feedback and/or input.
If you would be so kind as to grant me a little leeway in sending you an occasional short story, or a poem, or even an observational anecdote: then I’d be totes chuffed!
At age 54, I was a 1st timer to prison at almost 53. An enormity of life experience has meant I am able to assist my peers here in various ways. Principally though, I guide their journey to accept that they are more. Much more (!) than their crime or transgression. The will to change begins with the humblest of realisations. Like dropping certain habits. If I can at times be the trigger for that, then I am happy. Mostly, people are good inside. A famous author once said: men’s natures are alike. It is their habits that set them apart…
Hence I surmise that moving away from unhealthy habits (and habitats!!) prompts a kind of reboot… a reset to those original god-gifted settings we were born with prior to nibbling or gorging the ‘poison apple’.
Ok; best I wrap it up before I bore the starch from your crisp, clean shirts. In closing I’ll say this:
Your monthly publication offers us not only hope and solidarity – as I stated pages and pages ago ;) – but also a sense of dignity. And that is something that some have never experienced.
Consequently, I bid you genuine thanks!! In recognition of your efforts, I extend my sincerest regards.
