Going in With Flowers

by Avril Joy

The poetry of Prison: With authenticity, poignancy, and humour, Avril Joy gives voice to the lives of women prisoners contained behind walls and bars. Based on her experiences of twenty-five years working in HM Low Newton, County Durham, she explores in poetry and prose the daily going in through locked gates to meet darkness and pain as well as laughter and hope. The style is intense and breathtakingly original.

This collection is based on Avril Joy’s twenty-five years working as a teacher and senior manager in HM Low Newton, County Durham. Women prisoners trusted her with their life stories which she transformed into prose and poetry which sings with originality and compassion.

Genres: Poetry

150 pages, Paperback

Published September 1, 2019

About the author

I was born and brought up on the Somerset Levels, the setting for my first novel, The Sweet Track, published in 2007 by Flambard Press.

I left Somerset at eighteen for U.E.A, and a degree in the History of Art, then lived in London where I taught for a couple of years before moving north.

After the move north I travelled in India, Kashmir and Nepal for a while and when I came back I started work as a temporary teacher in a women’s prison HMP Low Newton, on the outskirts of Durham city. I met Writer-in-Residence Wendy Robertson here and that’s when I began writing. Until then I had no thoughts of ever being a writer.

In 2003 I won a Northern Promise Award, from New Writing North.

When the children were up and leaving home, I finally left my job in order to write. I was by this time a Prison Governor with responsibity for learning and skills development. I hadn’t meant to stay at Low Newton for so long but almost from the start I became deeply involved with the women and their lives – read more here and in many ways that never leaves me. I see it creep in again and again, often through the back door, into what I write.

In 2012 I won the inaugural Costa Short Story Award for my story Millie and Bird.

My latest novel, Sometimes a River Song, was awarded The People's Book Prize 2017 best Achievement Award

Reviews

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intense, brutal and beautiful.

[Holly Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful and poingiant collection of poetry and prose, shedding an honest, humbling and empathetic light on life inside a women's prison. Anyone who considers themselves a feminist needs to read this book.

[Louise Worthington · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the premise of the book - giving women's voices/ experiences in prison a voice. Some of the poetry is quite hard to read as you'd expect.

[Joanne Kemp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uncomfortable reading but really makes you think. I'm glad I read it.

[Carmen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I appreciate the intention but sadly the execution was not for me.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Impactful, sensitive, informative and somewhat heart-breaking in its honesty.