Cultures of Incarceration Centre

Freedom Festival Book Club

Our reading and creative writing group explored ideas of isolation and loneliness with incarcerated readers and writers at HMP Hull and HMP Full Sutton.

Led by Dr Josephine Metcalf and Dr Laura Burkinshaw in 2024-25, this book club explored the benefits of prison book groups with embedded creative writing components.

The project was run in conjunction with the Freedom Festival, an award-winning international creative arts festival that takes place annually in Hull. The Festival showcases extraordinary artistic programmes exploring the themes of democracy, freedom, and human rights. The themes of “isolation” and “loneliness” guided the focus of Hull’s Freedom Festival in 2023.

An exhibition wall filled with poetry and textile portrayals of hands with quotes about writing

The hands of one of the writing group, created in textiles by artist Ella Dorton

The creative writing produced by the prisoners was exhibited in Tarred with the Same Brush as part of Freedom Festival 2024. The writing was featured alongside the work of a local mixed media artist, Ella Dorton who had completed portraits of the writers’ hands.

Creative writing produced by members of the book club is featured on the Cultures of Incarceration writing corner.

Writing CornerExplore the writing corner

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Have a question for the Cultures of Incarceration Centre?

culturesincarceration@hull.ac.uk