This update was written by Malik, a member of the Dept of Deep Discussions learning community at the London Correctional Institution (LoCI) in London, OH.
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Hello from the Department of Deep Discussions (3D)! We just read Mariame Kaba’s “Justice,” on the periodic antisocial behavior that happens in our everyday complex lives, and Alan Dean Foster’s “That Creeping Sensation,” where regular bees have grown to the size of baguettes and which will leave you never wanting to go outside again. Over these past and present readings, we go after that ever-tantalizing and ever-evasive utopia. It has been a journey; however, we have been creeping up on the horizon of that coveted utopia. All we have to achieve this goal is some SCIENCE FICTION and some COFFEE. Over here at 3D, everybody sips.
The integral and beautiful thing about 3D is that you have people and personalities from different cultures, experiences, and backgrounds that you’d never expect in a group reading books. Without this essential piece, it would not be as impactful.
We have critical, insightful, and hysterical discussions biweekly, in this everyday dystopia where we live. We uncover a lot of perspectives. Good sci-fi and coffee is a way more heavy-hitting combo than I thought it would be. Giving you something to sip on.
It’ll be a beautiful thing to live in a utopia. We’re getting real three dimensional how we get there: building this community and strengthening our brotherhood. The learning community has invoked a new passion within myself of being less selfish and more selfless. It’ll take all of us to raze our dystopia and build a utopia where we can all live.
So go grab your sci-fi and coffee! Get involved and get busy! We’ve just started N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season. Thank you for your time. Enjoy!