Words to Freedom
On Saturday, the calm, quiet surroundings of St. Ann's Church shielded a medium sized audience from the cold outside.
After a warm welcome from the vicar, Mary McBride of the Manchester Amnesty Group introduced the actors Shobna Gulati, Wyllie Longmore and Nathan Crossan-Smith, each of whom infused the political writings we had gathered to hear with genuine feeling.
Chance to reflect
These three orators read with poise and dignity, a selection of poems and extracts from speeches and books, most of which had been written under political duress, intimidation or imprisonment.
Interspersed with details about the work of Amnesty, the flow of the readings was structured so that we were given chance to reflect on what we were hearing.
Themes included the power of language, hope and inspiration for the future.
Free expression
Crossan-Smith started things off with Scottish poet Elma Mitchell's 'This poem', a witty parody of a warning message that highlights the power of words and the sinister nature of censorship.
Frank P Whyte's harrowing description of Death Row uses cold, almost technical detail to describe the nature of imprisonment.
Two classic works, Niemoller's 'First they came for the Jews' and Donne's 'No Man is an Island', formed a reminder of the ideas of free expression and political engagement when heard in a modern context. Such ideas are certainly no less relevant now, when an organisation like Amnesty is so necessary.
Power of ideas
The last theme focused on the fact that you cannot stop ideas and thoughts of freedom. Shobna Gulati's rousing rendition of Maya Angelou's 'Still I Rise' delivered the message that no matter how oppressed or brutalised freedom of movement, expression and ideology become, the power of these ideas continues.
All in all, a potentially difficult event went very smoothly and showed the importance of this kind of writing in comforting people, making them think and getting them to act.
Published: Mon, 20 October, 2008
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