Reginald Dwayne Betts Interview: Redefining Redemption by Finding Poetry in Prison
Reginald Dwayne Betts recalls being tried as an adult and sent to prison for carjacking when he was 16 and how that eventually led him to becoming a writer. Topics explored are Prison Reform, The Power of a Poem, Family and what it means to be a felon in America.
Reginald Dwayne Betts is an award winning poet and lawyer who is the founder and executive director of Freedom Reads, a not-for-profit organization that gives access to literature in prisons through the installation of Freedom Libraries across the country. For over 20 years he has used his poetry and essays to explore the world of prisons and the effects of violence and incarceration on American Society. He has transformed his latest collection of poetry, Felon: Poems into a solo theater show that explores the post incarceration experience and lingering consequences of a criminal record through poetry, stories, and engaging with the timeless and transcendental art of paper-making. He was a recipient of the 2021 MacArthur Fellowship Award.
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Reginald Dwayne Betts, Poet and Lawyer
Interviewed By: Noah Remnick
Interview Date: September 15, 2022
00:00 Prison Reform
03:30 The Role Of Art
05:43 Can Prison Be Reformed?
06:41 Growing Up In Maryland
09:08 Family
16:58 Finding Poetry In Prison
22:07 Writing Letters and Forming Friendships
25:21 Carjacking And Arrest
30:21 Does Prison Blunt Creativity?
33:17 Choosing The Name Shahid
35:11 The Label Of Felon
38:21 Meeting Wife
41:43 Fatherhood
46:41 Relationship With Mother
49:37 Poetry
56:08 Yale Law School
58:35 Poetry and The Law
01:00:44 Criminal Justice System
01:02:28 Navigating Elitist Establishments
01:05:18 Violent and Non Violent Crimes
01:08:26 Managing Harm
01:09:37 Prison Abolition
01:16:09 “For a Bail Denied” from Felon
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