Unique prison writing program provides voice for Indigenous men

A unique creative writing prison program at Junee Correction Centre (JCC) in New South Wales is helping Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men strengthen their connection to culture.
Established in 2011, the ‘Dreaming Inside: Voices from the Junee Correctional Centre Prisoner Writing Program’ is the only prison creative writing program that specifically targets Indigenous inmates.
Griffith Law School academic Professor Elena Marchetti, who is evaluating the program as part of an Australian Research Council grant, said it provided the men with an opportunity to use creative writing as a form of expression and exercise a form of agency by publishing their poems and stories in books without censorship.
“It also enables them to engage with Elders and other community members, fostering a connection with culture,’’ Professor Marchetti said.
Each year, the latest volume is launched at an event hosted by the Wollongong Art Gallery as part of the Sydney Writers Festival and at the

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