Poet Laureate reads to female inmates as they 'catch up with learning'

11 March 2024 , 19:24

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Inmates at East Sutton Park were visited by the poet laureate (Image: Phil Harris)

Life’s not all Bard for British lags - after they were read rhymes by a Poet Laureate.

Female inmates at HMP East Sutton Park had a visit from Simon Armitage to read his poetry collection, Paper Aeroplane. The reading group is made up of women from their early 20s to 83 and they informally chat about a book they have been reading.

It normally numbers 20 to 25, and 25 attended Simon’s reading - over a third of south Gloucestershire prison' s total prisoner population. Mr Armitage said: “My experience as a former probation officer reinforced the idea educational opportunities should be an essential part of anyone’s time in prison.

"Many people in the criminal justice system have lived very disrupted lives and missed out on the kind of learning others often take for granted, and prison can and should be a place where inmates are given the chance to catch up and be equipped with skills for future life."

Poet Laureate Simon Armitage (PA)

The group is one of the many activities used to rehabilitate offenders, aiming to improve their literacy and educational outcomes. Part of the purpose of Simon Armitage’s visit is to showcase how literature is a force for enrichment and rehabilitation, helping to change prisoners’ self-perception and thinking about the world – particularly for those that may not have been exposed to poetry before.

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Previous writers to have visited the reading group are Colin Mayo, Amanda Brown, Paula Hawkins, Louisa Treger, Nicci French and Kit de Waal. Prison Library Development Manager Victoria Barnett said: "The reading group at HMP East Sutton Park has gone from strength to strength.

"The ladies encourage new arrivals to join as soon as they arrive, and they love getting together to discuss their latest read. They often tell me they talk about how they are getting on with the book when they meet up around the prison, and most agree that they are reading things they might not have tried without the reading group.

"It has a positive impact on their wellbeing and improves their confidence with both reading and speaking in a group."

A Prison Service spokesman said: “We know how important education is in helping offenders gain the skills they need to turn their backs on crime. That’s why we launched our Prisoner Education Service and are holding governors to greater account for performance, while rolling out more specialist staff, technology and hardware.

“Our approach is working – with the percentage of prisons rated ‘good’ by Ofsted increasing significantly over the last year.”

Dan Warburton