Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

Poetry Prison Comoro, Railings All Around

https://jacquescoulardeau.medium.com/poetry-prison-comoro-railings-all-around-eba06e7b1c93

An interesting experiment to bring a poetry workshop in a prison For us who have lived in the mythology of Johnny Cash and San Quentin, and all his songs and work about and in prisons there is nothing strange about that But what happens afterward? The inmates get some satisfaction in their work, writing poetry and singing, slamming, or whatever it may be, but what’s next after their prison term? No reason to reject the experiment but a follow-up action is necessary to know what these men – and it is only men – have become or will become when they get out of the railings, out of the cage. We are not all Johnny Cash, are we?

Since this operation was sponsored by Alliance Française, it would be nice to know what kind of follow-up work this Alliance Française is going to perform. The responsibility cannot be the poet’s. But it is interesting to be confirmed one more time that there are many ways for prison inmates to reform. One element is not taken into account. 98% of the population is Sunni Muslims. What is the impact of it on such an experiment? What does Islam bring to the experiment that would otherwise not be there? Étienne Russias should try to show us this dimension, since, as far as I know, he is a standard young man educated in the Christian traditions, maybe not the religion, but the traditions definitely like being christened, being buried religiously, being married religiously. How did he deal with a 98 percent Muslim group? How many Muslims were taking part, among the inmates and the workshop workers?

But that’s the beginning of the intelligent globalization we need, a globalization that is founded on differences and not some Westernized homogenization. However, the text produced by the various poetry animators and by the various inmates are not identified as such, so we do not know who is who and what is what. Only two names on the cover and hence two beneficiaries of royalties.

Academia.edu Comment

Jacques Coulardeau uploaded a paper

The question of prison reform is fascinating. This experiment of a French team supported by Alliance Française to help prisoners in Comoro, inmates reforming themselves with poetry and music, is surprising for a country that is 98% Sunni Muslim. What is the impact of it on the workshop, on the poetry produced by the inmates, is there any guidance to make them remain off religious questions (French laïcité), etc? It is all the same interesting to follow the experiment if there is any follow-up work with the inmates that took part.

 Éditions La Dondaine, Medium.com, 2024

Music,  *  Poetry,  *  Prisons,  *  Prison and Corrections Reforms, Restorative Justice

# posted by Dr. Jacques COULARDEAU @ 11:08 PM