About 30 prisoners, a clutch of staff and 20 outside guests squashed into The Board Room at HMP Springhill last night to watch the culmination of our performance poetry workshops facilitated by Euton Daley on the theme of friendship. There were certainly nerves beforehand but it went off without a hitch to an appreciative crowd. Afterwards we were treated to a brilliant and radical performance of poetry by Euton Daley and Amantha Edmead, collectively known as Unlock the Chains Collective to celebrate Black History Month. You could have heard a pin drop. The session was recorded so I will be posting the performances on the website soon. Watch this space.
I was in the audience and agree it was an uplifting, fascinating, magnificent evening. Talking to the pariticpants afterwards was the be struck by how powerful this work is. These were guys who had never written before, certainly never performed before, giving a strong, persuasive, compelling performance of their own poetry. As a boost to self-confidence it cannot be bettered.
Like the audience, I am very much looking forward to the next Kestrel piece at the prison. There is nothing to touch it.