St. Peter, Minnesota boasts a plethora of sights: a beautiful arboretum, a Veteran’s Memorial, the Paddlefish Brewing Company (with 12 homemade beers on tap) and last but not least, the prison artist known as Alfson. This artist, whose real name is Benjamin Alverson, can’t really be considered a prison artist, as he is technically not in prison. He’s been held captive in a Civil Commitment Facility (a prison disguised as a mental health hospital to get around due process laws) in St. Peter, for well over a decade. This place is a real dark stain on the community, yet Alfson copes with his captivity with incredible grace and a positive spirit. In this episode, we interview Benjamin Alverson by telephone and dig deep into his life — his childhood, his upbringing, his family, his spirituality, his love of pets, his hobbies, and of course his artwork. What does he create? How does he create it? What is he allowed (or not allowed to buy)? Is he allowed to sell his pieces? Alfson is a PenPals.Buzz member, and in addition to sharing his artwork with the world, would love to make some new pen pals and friends. So download, stream, press play, whatever you do — just listen to this episode and learn more about this fascinating man.
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