If I Could Fly: An anthology of writings from young men at Orchard Lodge Resource Centre

If I Could Fly emerged from a two year residency at Orchard Lodge Resource Centre that provided specialist assessment and remand services for boys and young men in crisis aged between 10 to 17 years in both secure units and open units. Under loco parentis, these boys and young men were required to attend formal education classes, which many resisted. Alternatively, McMillan asked them if they wanted to join him in creative writing sessions, which many responded positively, and this anthology of poetry and prose is the result. Benjamin Zephaniah wrote the foreword for the book.

Foreword 

This publication is close to my heart because it says much of what I couldn’t say when I was experiencing my borstal training or feeling my short, sharp shock. I now find myself entering such institutions as a performance poet or guest speaker, and every time I stand in front of these audiences telling my life story or revealing my inner self, I am conscious that everyone seated in front of me also has a life story. On one occasion recently, I met someone in one of these institutions with whom I had shared some borstal training. We paused for a moment, contemplating the different paths our lives had taken and the points we had reached now. This encounter slapped in my face the realisation that I could easily have been in his shoes and not be the performance poet I am today. There go I for the grace of...most people who are not politicians know that locking up and throwing away keys helps no one. The process which Michael has taken these boys and young men is not simply a creative writing exercise, where budding writers have discovered their voices. Some may go on to become writers. More importantly, for many of them it has been a cathartic rite of passage where for the first time in their lives someone has asked them to express what they really feel, rather than telling them. And this sense of liberation, spiritual freedom is what I give the inmates whenever I perform for them. 

We need to truly learn the art of listening and we certainly need to read more. I say read these stories because they reveal experiences which whether we know exist or not, we cannot simply deny that they could ever affect us. And so we become immune to another tragedy affecting another young person from another family in another sensational cover story in the tabloid press or another 30 second news item because tomorrow is another day. But these stories are not that distant from any of us if we choose to really look to really care. If readers are disturbed by these poems and stories, they should remember that they haven’t lived those lives and who feels it knows it.

Benjamin Zephaniah