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Why #HiddenVoices really exists...why we want to find a way to do more...
Excerpts from a letter from one of our incredible #SaughtonSonnets poets from within HMP Edinburgh /
T 1.
I can remember feeling really proud of my first poem and I kept reading it over and over again thinking to myself “Did I really do that?” All I knew for certain was I felt so much better because of it.
I can remember feeling really proud of my first poem and I kept reading it over and over again thinking to myself “Did I really do that?” All I knew for certain was I felt so much better because of it.
T 2.
It was as if it had provided me with some closure over the subject and emotions attached to it. The next seven days were quite literally the most exciting, expressive and emotional of my life to date simply because I had found a way of coping /
It was as if it had provided me with some closure over the subject and emotions attached to it. The next seven days were quite literally the most exciting, expressive and emotional of my life to date simply because I had found a way of coping /
T 3.
/
with all my thoughts and feelings through an art form and I was truly proud of what I was achieving. As I conquered each subject my confidence and self-worth grew...If only I hadn't waited so long to get started.
/
with all my thoughts and feelings through an art form and I was truly proud of what I was achieving. As I conquered each subject my confidence and self-worth grew...If only I hadn't waited so long to get started.
T 4.
When the competition was over I thought what will I do now I was a bit overwhelmed with the hole that not writing poetry had left in my life.
So as I had done during “Saughton Sonnets” each time I was overwhelmed with emotions I got a pen and paper and bled on to the page/
When the competition was over I thought what will I do now I was a bit overwhelmed with the hole that not writing poetry had left in my life.
So as I had done during “Saughton Sonnets” each time I was overwhelmed with emotions I got a pen and paper and bled on to the page/
T 5.
/
That was my salvation in that moment. I can create beautiful things that come out of moments of despair or anguish and then come back to them at any time of my choosing and that’s a powerful tool to manage my life.
/
That was my salvation in that moment. I can create beautiful things that come out of moments of despair or anguish and then come back to them at any time of my choosing and that’s a powerful tool to manage my life.
T 6.
I must admit it felt like an eternity waiting for the results to come back and I would check the prison tv channel religiously hoping to see something but each time there was nothing self doubt would creep in and I would remember that everything is slow here for us /
I must admit it felt like an eternity waiting for the results to come back and I would check the prison tv channel religiously hoping to see something but each time there was nothing self doubt would creep in and I would remember that everything is slow here for us /
T 7.
/
but I also had achieved so much already. Some time later and when I’m no longer checking the TV me and another prisoner were summoned to the governor’s office. In my experience that had never been a good thing but he then proceeded to explain /
/
but I also had achieved so much already. Some time later and when I’m no longer checking the TV me and another prisoner were summoned to the governor’s office. In my experience that had never been a good thing but he then proceeded to explain /
T 8.
/
how Saughton Sonnets had had taken on a life of its own and had been viewed an unbelievable amount and that the following day the judging panel would be picking their winners.
/
how Saughton Sonnets had had taken on a life of its own and had been viewed an unbelievable amount and that the following day the judging panel would be picking their winners.
T 9.
People like Ian Rankin and Darren McGarvey were reading or judging my poetry. I was so overwhelmed as I listened and to be honest part of me thought it was a joke and I was acutely awaiting the punchline but it never came.
People like Ian Rankin and Darren McGarvey were reading or judging my poetry. I was so overwhelmed as I listened and to be honest part of me thought it was a joke and I was acutely awaiting the punchline but it never came.
T 10.
It felt like I floated back to my cell. My feet not once touching the ground, I felt extremelt proud and just kept bursting into fits of laughter and saying Ian Rankin out loud. I couldn’t get it through my head that educated people were interested /
It felt like I floated back to my cell. My feet not once touching the ground, I felt extremelt proud and just kept bursting into fits of laughter and saying Ian Rankin out loud. I couldn’t get it through my head that educated people were interested /
T 11.
/
in anything a convicted criminal would have to say but I was wrong and wrong Big!!!
The next day I was handed sheets of paper and I read the comments of the judges on each of my pieces and was blown away. Here were people talking about my fears and hopes /
/
in anything a convicted criminal would have to say but I was wrong and wrong Big!!!
The next day I was handed sheets of paper and I read the comments of the judges on each of my pieces and was blown away. Here were people talking about my fears and hopes /
T 12.
/
and connecting with it like they were living my words. Let me tell you there truly no greater feeling than moving someone to tears or having them truly engage with your body of work, I felt bullet proof and as if I could achieve anything I put my mind to /
/
and connecting with it like they were living my words. Let me tell you there truly no greater feeling than moving someone to tears or having them truly engage with your body of work, I felt bullet proof and as if I could achieve anything I put my mind to /
T 13.
/
and to be honest I’ve never looked back since and now I attack life like I do poetry with confidence and emotion and kindness.
I am confident and happy with a vision of my future that doesn’t include crime and prison.
/
and to be honest I’ve never looked back since and now I attack life like I do poetry with confidence and emotion and kindness.
I am confident and happy with a vision of my future that doesn’t include crime and prison.
T 14.
Thanks to all those who listened and cried along with me and thanks to the few who made it possible. Thanks for letting me dream and believe I could rub shoulders with giants, even if it is just for a breath.
Thanks to all those who listened and cried along with me and thanks to the few who made it possible. Thanks for letting me dream and believe I could rub shoulders with giants, even if it is just for a breath.
If you have reached this part of the thread thanks for taking the time, #HiddenVoices has become a passion and the impact on many in 2020 will hopefully create a way forward in 2021...on behalf of all the poets thanks for being there you knocked it out of the park tweeps 
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