Lemar Bostic interviewed by Otto Booker
Otto Booker (00:03): Oh, good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Uh, we're here at the Green Correctional Facility, um, attending the Wave Farms program. I'm sitting here with, uh, a young man, student, um, Mr. Bostic.
Lemar Bostic (00:18): Uh...
Otto Booker (00:18): M- Mr. Bostic, um, s- would you like to state your name?
Lemar Bostic (00:22): Uh, yes. Uh, (laughs) I'm, uh, uh, Lemar Bostic here. And, um, yeah.
Otto Booker (00:28): Well, thank you, Mr., Mr. Bostic. I'm sorry. Um, yeah, Mr. Bostic, I have a couple of questions for you. Um, since you've been here, uh, what would you say about your experience in Wave Farm?
Lemar Bostic (00:41): Um, I would say, um, first of all, it's been totally great here. Uh, I've been able to get out, get some fresh air, um, get out of the restricted, uh, very restricted confines of prison life. Uh, uh, many of us know how that is, and, and, and it's, it's really helped me so, so far, you know, with movement, uh, um, learning, uh, uh, working together, you know, uh, being around people with the common cause of, of, of goodness. You know.
Otto Booker (01:17): Okay. And then, how did this... How did, you know, being in the class actually make you feel?
Lemar Bostic (01:24): Well, being in this class, uh, gave me confidence. I've been doing things I haven't done in a while
basically, uh, since my childhood. I've been practicing, uh... We've been practicing art forms, uh, writing, uh, poetry. Yeah.
Otto Booker (01:43): So you, you have experience, uh, in the arts.
Lemar Bostic (01:46): Oh yes. I have, uh, experience in arts. Yes.
Otto Booker (01:50): Okay. And, um, what was something you hoped to learn? You know, what, what surprised you about it?
Lemar Bostic (01:55): Uh, well, um, what I hope to get out of this is, um, more confidence being around others. You know, I, I myself, this is a medium. I came from a max. So being in a max, we're confined to a cell. We're not really around people too much, except if you go to the yard, and a lot of times, it's not that savory to be out there like that. But still, within this prison, you need to be around others. And one thing I pulled away from, uh, Wave Farm is, uh, working with others, being around others, you know? This art forms, uh, teaches you togetherness and coordination.
Otto Booker (02:38): Okay. Um, so how did your experience in this class compare to what you expected?
Lemar Bostic (02:44): (laughs) Uh, well, uh, to be frank with you, I, I expected, uh, we were doing stretches. You know? My idea of-
Otto Booker (02:55): (laughs)
Lemar Bostic (02:55): ... coming to this class, I was like, oh, we're gonna be doing stretches on the floor. And when I got here, it was totally different. It, it wasn't that. It, it, it was, uh, unexpected, but it was so much more, you know, uh, what I got out of it.
Otto Booker (03:09): Okay. Is there anything, uh, you wrote in the written survey that you would like to say more about here?
Lemar Bostic (03:17): Um, well it's a lot of things in the survey, you know? S- Surveys are, are narrow. I... I don't think, um, everything could be gathered in full scope, uh, within the survey. But, uh, one thing I would like to say is that, um, art is great in all its forms. Art is great. And it's something I've been practicing since I was a child, you know, from music to, uh, video, radio, audio, you know? (laughs) I wasn't a DJ, but I would pretend I was when I was young.
Otto Booker (03:51): Mm-hmm.
Lemar Bostic (03:51): You know? And, and that's what this program has released, that inner creativity, and that's what I want to take with me back to the world when I return.
Otto Booker (04:03): Well, this was a wonderful, uh, interview. And I thank you for sharing with us, Mr. Bostic.
Lemar Bostic (04:10): All right.
Otto Booker (04:10):Um, I'm hoping next time, you can, uh, you know, you can drop by and give us another interview sooner or later.
Lemar Bostic (04:17): Oh yes. Yes. Definitely.
Otto Booker (04:18): Awesome.
Lemar Bostic (04:18): That's definitely.
Otto Booker (04:19): Awesome.
Lemar Bostic (04:19): I'll be there. All right. Thank you.
Otto Booker (04:21): I really appreciate you. You have a good day, Mr. Bostic.
Lemar Bostic (04:23): All right. (laughs)