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Reading America, Reading Loneliness; Prison Book Groups at HMP Hull & HMP Full Sutton

People Involved

Profile image of Dr Jo Metcalf

Dr Jo Metcalf J.Metcalf@hull.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer in American Studies & Criminology

Project Description

In 2023, Hull’s award-winning arts festival, the “Freedom Festival” (FF) was guided by the themes of isolation and loneliness. We want to run book groups (with some creative writing) at both HMP Hull and HMP Full Sutton which combine these FF themes with an American focus. We want to address the ways in which, and to what extent, guided (or “themed”) reading and writing in prison can encourage skill development, widen one’s thinking, and support mental health / wellbeing. It is important to consider how a book / writing club with themes of isolation and loneliness that are disturbingly pertinent to the prison context on one hand, may in fact provide a crucial point for critical discussion and creative production. We thus seek to run 10 sessions at both HMP Hull and HMP Full Sutton which will take place fortnightly, with 15 participants at each. Of these ten weeks, at least five of them will be American-authored / American-focused texts and we are requesting support from the BAAS Development Fund to supply these five texts.

Status Project Complete
Value £1,500.00
Project Dates Jan 1, 2024 - Dec 31, 2024

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