Interview Highlight: Damien Linnane - Paper Chained

Published Feb 10, 2025, 5:30 AM

Peter Greco talks with Damien Linnane who is the Editor of "Paper Chained" and is also involved in a collaboration with Vision Australia Radio and About Time to produce a program and podcast "Inside Voice" showcasing writing and artistic expressions from individuals affected by incarceration. 

More info: Paper Chained

We've recently launched a new program here on Vision Australia Radio. Inside voice you can catch it Thursday afternoons at 430. Repeated Monday afternoons, also at 430. And on podcasts. We'll give you those details shortly, but let's speak to the person who's very much responsible for it. Damien. Damien, great to meet you and thank you for your time.

Thanks for having me on. It's always be great to it's always great to be on the radio. Yeah.

For sure. Well, tell us a bit about how this has all come about. You're the editor for a paper called Paper Change or Publication called Paper Change.

Yeah. That's right. Um, so I became involved in that in when it first started up in 2017, and then I became the editor in 2021.

So it's about the, the, the publication, uh, of it's got a very powerful story behind it. Tell us a bit about that.

Yeah. So it's definitely, um, uh, a bit a bit unique in terms of current publication. So, um, I was in a prison, uh, about, uh, ten years ago now, and, um, I, I wanted to study and I wanted to get mental health treatment, but neither of those options were available, And so I turned to art and writing as a way to rehabilitate myself, I guess, and just to keep busy and active. Um, it was quite depressing. There was nothing to do. And, um, I kept asking around, has anyone ever heard of a magazine for prisoners to submit art and writing to? And everyone was like, you know, well, what are you talking about? There's there's nothing like that. Um, there have been many over the, um, decades, but there hadn't been one for about, uh, about 12 years, um, when I was in prison. And so, um, I said, you know what? When I get out, I'm going to help start one up. And, um, thankfully, somebody else had the exact same idea, and so I came on board with her. That was in 2017. And, um, she put that, um, journal out annually. And, um, after about 4 or 5 years, she said she couldn't do it anymore. She, you know, I just had a paid employment and, uh, and a family, and she she'd been self-financing it, and, um, asked if I was willing to take it over. And, um, even though I had neither the time nor the money. Um, I decided to try and keep it alive, because I knew how much difference that would that would have made to my mental health when I was in prison. And I put one issue out, and then I realized how unsustainable it was in terms of time and money. So I, um, I applied for funding. And long story short, um, the really great people at the Community Restorative Center are not for profit in Sydney. Um, offered to pay me to make the magazine, so I, I accidentally created a job for myself, and it's my dream job. I really love it. Yeah.

Well done. It's such a cool name to it as well, isn't it? It's a little bit of a, uh, a double entendre, if you like.

Yeah. Um, the previous editor. I have to give her the credit for that. Uh, but, yeah, we we get a lot of good feedback about about the name and also the content as well. Yeah.

What about the content? I mean, it's interesting what you said about, uh, you know, it was depressing, which I think we can all kind of associate with and and not much to do. Do you have difficulty getting content for the for the publication?

Not anymore. Um, when I first came on board, you know, I reached out to the previous editor and I said, oh, can I had the same idea. Can I help you? And she's like, yes, please. Um, I'm having a lot of trouble getting content because it's really difficult to get the get the word out in prison that something exists. You can't really go up to the walls and, you know, shout at them. And, you know, obviously they don't have the internet. And, um, and, you know, if you don't have their details, you can't, you know, write to them and everything. And not that, you know, a mass writing campaign would have an effect like, you know, the best way to get the word out. But, um, so I used some of my existing contacts, like, I knew people inside that were artists. And so I wrote to them and, and, uh, the first four issues that she put out and the first one that I put out myself as well, um, we were struggling to get enough contributions just because it was difficult to get the word out. Um, sometimes, like a new person would only find out the magazine existed because someone who was already on the mailing list would be moved to that prison, and then they'd take it with them, and then other people would find out it existed. But, um, these days I actually have to apologize to people because people will send me a poem and I'll write back saying, thank you, I love this, I will share it. But at the moment the backlog is about two issues. Uh, because, um, yeah, we get much more stuff than we can print in a, in a in a short period of time. Um, especially because, um, with the funding we've gone up to quarterly, but still, that's, you know, only four times a year. So, um, these days I, um, get, if anything, um, I don't want to say too many, um, because I enjoy reading them, and it's actually great to have things in advance, but, uh, we get more than I'm able to print, um, in a timely manner.

I know you mentioned at the beginning you've actually written while you've been, uh, incarceration. Can that kind of be cathartic? Can that help? Or how much can that help?

Yeah. Um, absolutely. Sometimes, like, even if you don't want to have your stuff published because there's often, uh, you know, um, obviously there's, there's no internet, um, and phones are only available at certain points during the day, and even then, they're very expensive. Um, every state is different, but in New South Wales it costs $2.80 for a phone call, which is limited at ten minutes. And that's one of the cheapest states. Um, in in Victoria, it's about $7 for a 12 minute phone call. And then obviously then, you know, there's no privacy. Um, there are other people waiting in line. And so, um, writing for me, I found was one of the main ways I got through, uh, my sentence because I was able to get to get those feelings out. Um, the overwhelming number of writing contributions we get are poetry. Uh, that's typically how, um, people want to express themselves. And, you know, um, the magazine's made freely available online, but the target audience is is definitely people in prison. And, you know, I've had people on the outside say, you know, Damien, this is a really fantastic publication. But I find it a little bit depressing because a lot of the poems are about, you know, um, missing your family and like, giving up hope and, and some of them do, uh, touch on, on, on suicide or suicidal ideations and, um, but the thing is that for people inside hearing that other people say those things, um, is if anything is going to make them feel like they're understood and they're heard, and that other people know what, what, what they're going through. But yeah, we, uh, writing can actually absolutely be a huge help. And it's the only really way that you have to communicate with people at any time. Like, you know, when I was in prison, sometimes I would stay up late at night and write people, you know, um, 612 I think I Runs a really close friend. Like a 16 page letter, uh, which, um, you know, uh, letter writing is a bit of a lost art, but, um, you know, people in prison are to an extent keep keeping that alive a bit. But, um, yeah, writing is absolutely helpful, and so is art. And, and and it's a shame that, um, prisons don't focus a lot on those things because they're very obsessed with, like, rehabilitation courses that have a start and an end, and you can get a certificate, you know, and then they can say, look, we, we put, you know, so on and so many people through this course. But I think it's things like art that actually, um, you know, like and like ongoing things like helping people learn how to read things that don't actually have a start and end that's just ongoing, that actually provide the most, you know, support and rehabilitation for people. Um, studies consistently show that rehabilitation in prison comes more from the process of, you know, learning, you know, and working with others rather than the certificate you get at the end.

Often in the era of disability and people with disabilities are overrepresented when it comes to incarceration, goes Guys we talk about, you know, lived experience. So someone that can identify with someone who's been through a similar sort of thing, are you able to kind of get your message out there to, you know, people that are running, running prisons to governments, etc. to kind of talk about just the sort of stuff you've talked about now to kind of make the rehabilitation even more, I guess, rounded, if I can put it that way. I take your point about, you know, a beginning and an end to a certificate, but there's so much more than that.

Yeah, absolutely. And I mean, I um, also because, you know, I don't want to get us banned, you know, um, I, I, you know, I do allow some constructive criticism. In fact, I actually think it's quite healthy to allow prisoners to do that. Um, there was a publication started in prison in the UK, um, many years ago, explicitly for that purpose. They found that if they gave, um, you know, prisoners a constructive way to complain, um, that, um, you know, they could actually reduce tension in the prison because they felt like they, you know, you know, got it out a bit, but, um, I, I absolutely try to have a very positive message in the magazine. And, you know, I hope people who work in corrections also read it and get some ideas, because, you know, I point out programs that actually work and success stories. And, you know, I just finished our last night typing up an interview. I did, um, for the next issue of Paper Chain, which is about the, um, the film sing Sing, which has just been nominated for three Academy Awards. And I actually did an interview with someone who was heavily involved in that film. And, um, but the point, um, the film's all about, um, a theatrical, um, production in prisons in New York and how much that assisted with rehabilitation and. Yeah. And I mean, it's a great story to share, but, um, also, I'm hoping people read it and think and somebody, you know, high ranking somewhere reads it and says, hey, you know, actually that that's really good. Why don't we do that in our prisons? Because there wasn't anything like that when I was inside at least.

Great point, Damien. You're a great example of what, um, a person who's been incarcerated and comes out can can do. You're also doing a PhD at the moment.

Um. That's correct. So, um, yeah, I like I said, when I was in prison, I was like, has there ever been a prison magazine? And everyone's like, no, what are you talking about? And then after I got out, I was like, you know, myself and the person who started up paper chain. We can't be the only people who thought this was a good idea. And so I started digging and I was kind of overwhelmed. You know, I was expecting I was expecting to find, you know, maybe a 100 or a couple hundred issues of Brisbane magazines, like historical ones. As of last count, I now have 1006. I went through all the state libraries and many former prisons and I said, you know, do you have any copies of prison magazines? And, um, a lot of them did. And also, like a lot of them, um, the State Library of Victoria and Western Australia, they both said the same thing to me. They're like, um, I don't think anyone's ever borrowed these before. They've just been kind of like, you know, left in the archives. And, um, so, yeah, now I'm doing a PhD that focuses on the intersection between, um, historical, um, prison magazines and also, like, um, what prisoners have expressed in them. And, um, one of the big ones not surprising is, um, lack of access to healthcare. Um, I don't want to go off too much of a tangent, but, uh, for those of you who don't know, um, prisoners are the only people in Australia, the only Australian citizens, really, who don't have access to access to Medicare. And because of that, lots of health services aren't available. And so, um, yeah, lack of access to healthcare is a big thing. Um, that's been expressed in prison journalism in the past. So my PhD is, um, looking at the history of prison, um, magazines and what prisoners have expressed in them. And the biggest two things are healthcare. And then also, um, censorship, which is still a problem.

Yeah, yeah. I mean, we're at a time we could chat for hours and tell you what, we've got each other's detail. So when that PhD comes to fruition, let us know and we'll get you back as the doctor. Damian, uh, maybe not helping with the Medicare situation, but maybe with other situations. And now, as I said, uh, inside Voice, which is, uh, sort of a collaboration, if you like, between paper change and also, um, uh, an interview that we did, uh, with another magazine about time with Joseph Freeman last year. So they're, they're, they feature in Inside Voice, which you can hear, uh, first afternoons at 430. And it's then repeated Monday afternoons at 430 on the Australia Radio Network. It's also on our omni page. If people go there for their podcast, we'll put those details up on our show notes. Damn it. Good luck and just give your paper and website a plug because people can go there to check it out. It's obviously aimed at people who are incarcerated or have been incarcerated, but it's a feature of the public to access.

Yeah, absolutely. So we're, um, a website is, uh, paper chain.com. Um, c h a I n e d. Um, people often think I'm saying paper chain. Uh, but, um, you know, paper chain.com. And we're on Instagram at paper Chain as well, and you can find all the relevant information from there.

It's been great talking to you. Hopefully we can speak again.

Yeah, that'd be really great. I'd love to be.

Back on when PhD is finally finished. Yeah, it's a long journey, but yeah, we're getting there.

We'll be here for you. Thank you. That's, uh, Danny Lennon there. One of the people behind, uh, Paper Cage and also the Inside Voice Show, which is now, uh, airing on Australia radio. If any of the issues Damien touched on have raised any issues with you, remember, you can always contact lifeline on 13 1114. That's lifeline on 13 1114.

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