Talk by Steve Champion at exhibition of art & poetry from San Quentin death row - King's College London

20th - 23rd November 2017 - King's College, London

Between 20th and 23rd November 2017, An exhibition of art & poetry from San Quentin's death row, curated by ArtReach , was displayed at King's College London by the King's College Health + Humanities Society who celebrate the diverse communal interests between health and the humanities.  On Thursday 23rd November, there was an evening of talks at King's College, as well as an opportunity to view the artwork & poetry.  Steve Champion (aka Adisa Kamara) gave an introductory talk via prison phone from San Quentin - telling a little bit about himself & his creative process as a writer - and also about his fellow inmates, the artists incarcerated on death row. You can listen to his talk here:-

At the end of his talk, Steve recited a poem "Beyond the Walls" which he wrote whilst in Solitary Confinement. The poem in full is below:-


Beyond the Walls

The dream hovers
where even the senses can’t touch it.
Separating itself from the mind,
it dances upon the moonlit surface.
Like art, unfathomable in its reach,
rising like the morning mist,
free,
only to disappear somewhere in the vastness.
Dancing to the mystic mind.
Reaching, beyond the walls.

Steve Champion (Adisa Kamara)