Deep Inside M. Willmott. Victoria, BC., Canada: Trafford (2007) 66pp. d7.50pb ISBN
978-1-4251-0989-9 Reviewed by the Howard League for Criminal Reform
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
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r 2009 The Authors
Journal compilation r 2009 The Howard League and Blackwell Publishing Ltd
The Howard Journal Vol 48 No 2. May 2009
ISSN 0265-5527, pp. 221–232
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.
References
Curran, K. (2002) ‘Finding God behind bars: an exploratory study of the relevance of
prison conversions to criminology’ (unpublished PhD dissertation, Institute of
Criminology, University of Cambridge).
Hughes, J. (2005) Doing the Arts Justice: A Review of Research Literature, Practice and Theory,
Canterbury: The Unit for the Arts and Offenders, Centre for Applied Theatre
Research.
Maruna, S., Wilson, L. and Curran, K. (2006) ‘Why God is often found behind bars:
prison conversions and the crisis of self-narrative’, Research in Human Development,
3(2&3), 161–84.
PhD Student, ALEXANDRA COX
Institute of Criminology,
University of Cambridge,
Cambridge.