A Casual Kindness
Vox Liminis is proud to present ‘A Casual Kindness’, a new poetry collection created by members of the Unbound Community with poet and storyteller, Pádraig Ó Tuama.
Unbound is the ongoing creative community of Vox Liminis. A community of people with diverse experience of the criminal justice system – former and serving prisoners, people on community sentences, families affected by imprisonment, artists, academics, and people who work in the criminal justice system – using their creativity and experiences to spark positive change.
Pádraig Ó Tuama worked alongside Unbound to develop poems exploring the challenges of coming home after crime and punishment, inspired by learning from the Distant Voices research project.
Much of the original material was generated during a weekend residential back in 2019. Ó Tuama led the group through creative exercises while Alison Urie (Vox Liminis Director) focused on community-building; making space for cooking together, keeping the fire lit, late-night chats and sing-alongs…
A collective reviewing and editing process followed, with Ó Tuama weaving in further stories, insights and ideas as they arose. The group then came together to read aloud and record audio versions of some of the poems. The collection continued to grow and develop during the recording process.
“This process of reading, listening, exploring, responding and then changing what we make, underpins the kind of hospitality we want to embody in the Unbound community and the wider work of Vox Liminis.
These words and stories of recognition and solidarity in the face of violence – not least systemic and structural violence – raise radical questions about our ways of thinking and being together in society. Just as writing these poems connected and changed us, we hope that your encounters, as readers, with A Casual Kindness will spark action and change in you, and the places of connection you might influence.” – Alison Urie
The collection has been published by Tapsalteerie – an award-winning Scottish poetry publishing house based in rural Aberdeenshire. They produce an eclectic range of publications with a focus on new poets, innovative writing, translation and collaborative projects.
Order it here