Dear Writers,
My name is Ruby. I am a subscriber of About Time on the south coast of NSW. I do not have any lived experience of incarceration, nor do I personally know anyone who has.
I want to thank you for writing to the paper. Your stories are important, and they help people like me understand how fundamentally flawed and archaic the prison system is.
Kelly (Issue 4), your article taught me so much about working full-time in prison, and I felt rage at every word I read. I read your article aloud to my best friend. We spoke about it for a long time. Henry (Issue 3) and Dave (Issue 2), I also read her your articles. She’s an art therapist. ‘This is the power of art and music!’ we cheered. Chris (Issue 4), Happy Birthday brother. You are a beautiful writer, please keep writing. Shea (Issue 4), your strength comes through in your vulnerability, and I hope you write again.
I will not pretend to understand what it is like on the inside, but reading your stories has been profoundly helpful in building empathy and understanding, not only in my life, but in the lives of those around me. I know I am not the only reader who feels this way. Thank you, all of you, for writing. Every issue I am left sitting here thinking, what can I do? How can I help? How can I put pressure in the right places to change things?
Do you have access to many books on the inside? I would love to learn more about prison libraries.
Thank you for your vulnerability, I can’t wait for the next issue.
Ruby
