Protesting the book ban for prisoners

A novelist and poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy along with other writers protested outside the North London’s Pentonville Prison in opposition to Ministry of Justice new legislation – banning books for prisoners.

The protest took place on the 28th of March. The writers held a public poem reading just outside the prison gates, attracting many supporters who have now, along with other tens of thousands of people, also signed the petition in support of removal of the legislation.

The legislation came into place after a proposal being initially granted by the minister of justice himself, Chris Grayling. Along with the banning of books being passed on to the prisoners by their loved ones, things such as clothing and other items apart from compulsory medication have also been prohibited.

One of the Pentonville protesters, Adam Dawking, 34, had this to say: “My dad had spent four years in a prison, I remember how my mother used to always buy new books to pass on to my dad during our monthly meetings. Literature helped him get through ‘grey days’, now he is out of the prison and is again an equal part of the society, I don’t see how the books give anything but good in rehabilitation of the criminals.”

The campaign is being led by the Howard League for Penal Reform and The English PEN. The issue has now been spread into social networks too, with people uploading pictures of bookshelves and other literature related photos, using hashtags such as #booksforprisoners and #shelfie.

Karla Holland, 26, a member of The English PEN, says: “I became a member of PEN two years ago and have since been following their campaigns, I think that this one is a major one, one that everyone should pay attention to. Prisoners are people who will have to reintegrate themselves back into our society once they are out of the prison; their punishment is being held under strict rules in a concealed environment, banning of books should not be part of the punishment. We will not stop until Grayling removes this awful legislation and hopefully apologizes.”

Letters of requests and the signed petition have been sent to the Ministry of Justice, once these have been reviewed, the MoJ will return with the final decision which will determine whether the campaign have to continue or if the ultimate aim has been achieved.