The Story From Here
You can listen to the story here:
Letter from HMP
About a year ago, we received a request from the Adult Education Consultant at Her Majesty's Penitentiary to donate comics to their library. Since then we have regularly donated books to the prison. This week we got the kindest message from that same worker, which we wanted to share. It's such a powerful letter about the importance of comics, especially in dark times. Sending love to all those who are and have been incarcerated <3
Hi Kerri,
I was delighted to return from the break and find a large box of comics waiting at my door.
It felt like an unexpected kindness, a quiet gift that arrived without ceremony, but with real weight.
I wanted to share how deeply meaningful these are for the inmates. Comics offer a rare escape from the sameness of prison life. Even the colours matter. In a place that is mostly grey, concrete, steel, routine, colour becomes a kind of life giving charm. They give people somewhere else to rest their eyes, and for a moment, somewhere else to exist.
Some inmates have shared that in their darkest moments, being handed a comic quite literally saved their lives. It felt like a message from the outside world, proof that life still went on beyond the walls, and that perhaps it could still go on for them as well. For some, that small gesture was enough to steady them, to give them the strength to keep breathing, to keep going.
That sense of being remembered, of being seen, can be profoundly grounding when someone is struggling.
These comics are shared, traded, passed hand to hand. Sometimes they’re carefully hoarded. Most of all, they are cherished. They are read and reread, folded and worn, loved into softness.
Thank you again for your generosity. These will be put to real use, and they are appreciated far more than words can fully express.