Deep Inside by M. Willmott

Victoria, BC., Canada : Trafford ( 2007 ) 66pp. £7.50pb ISBN 978-1-4251-0989-9 This self-published collection of prison writings is an exemplar of the tradition of giving voice to the experience of incarceration and, in particular, to using that voice as a means of personal change. Willmott's book, a collection of prose and poetry ranging from the deeply personal and reflective to the spiritual and political, though perhaps never able to reach a wide readership, is, arguably, an important piece of documentary evidence about one man's expression of coping with, and resisting, the experience of incarceration. Willmott was 56 years old in 2005 when he was incarcerated for the first time after being convicted of arson. Willmott describes his passage to prison as one that was fuelled by his addiction to alcohol, and part of his book is devoted to his reflections on this addiction, the insights he drew from various spiritual traditions, particularly Christianity, as well as his reflections on his crime: in his poem ‘Arson’, Willmott writes: ‘… autumnal fires have the power of purging,/purifying the bugged soil for spring planting. And the light of the fire,/and the excitement,/the cleansing of fire/can heal encrustations’ (p.16). Willmott's prose is perhaps most powerful when he speaks of his struggles to cope in what he describes as ‘the institutional insanity of the prison unsystem’ (preface) He writes about those elements of prison life which were able to anchor him: fellow prisoners: ‘companions, comforters, inspirers, communicators, eye-openers – stability’ (p.10), and visits ‘A reminder of normality, sanity, trust, love, faith in your future: light through the tunnel’ (p.11). Willmott's writings are, broadly, an attempt to make sense of the ‘island of self’ that is ‘battered’ by the ‘unwantonness’ and ‘unmercifulness’ of the prison experience (p.32). Writing is one of a number of creative arts that have been found to impact on an individual's well-being while they are incarcerated (Hughes 2005). In a recent review of the literature on the use of the arts in imprisonment, creative writing was found to benefit core aspects of identity-building: ‘naming experiences to facilitate engagement and interaction with the world combines with increased consciousness of the impact of self on the world and vice versa’ (Hughes 2005, p.68). This is echoed by Willmott himself, who writes in his preface: ‘Writing helps self-analysis, making sense, keeping self together – hope’. Willmott, like many individuals in prison, faced a crisis of selfhood to whom he felt he needed to give voice. The unique form that this takes for Willmott, part memoir, part fiction, part spiritual reflection, is a form of self-narrative. Maruna, Wilson and Curran (2006) describe the crisis of self-narrative that is common amongst prisoners: ‘if adults are motivated to find meaning, construct coherence, and generally “make sense” of their lives in ways that maintain self-esteem, prisoners experience a particular challenge in this regard’ (p.168). They argue that ‘being imprisoned can cause individuals to see the fragility of the web of meaning they previously took for granted. This realization can lead to reflection on issues of existence, life, and death, which are usually bracketed from everyday consideration’ (p.169). Curran (2002) writes that self-narratives can aid personal coherence and unity, helping to establish meaning for one's life, and supporting identity (pp.92–3). Willmott's book – an attempt to ‘keep the mind alive in this most mind-destroying of places’ (preface), is an important testament to this process of identity building.

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