Reginald Dwayne Betts

Freedom begins with a book

Reginald Dwayne Betts is the founder and director of Freedom Reads, a first-of-its-kind organization that empowers people through literature to confront what prison does to the spirit.

 

 “I survived solitary, and rediscovered a sense of freedom the system had tried to beat out of me, because of a book. I realized that a poem can give somebody a whole world of hope. And after reading that book, I dedicated myself to helping other prisoners, and people outside of prison, discover the freedom blueprint that poetry, literature, and other arts can provide.”

Photography by Jonna Algarin Mojica

 
 
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Dwayne Betts

Reginald Dwayne Betts

Reginald Dwayne Betts is the founder and director of the Freedom Reads. A poet and lawyer, he is the author of four books. A 2021 MacArthur Fellow, his latest collection of poetry, Felon, was awarded the American Book Award and an NAACP Image Award. He holds a J.D. from Yale Law School.

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Contact for Speaking Engagements


Erin Simpson
Director, Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau

Simon & Schuster, Inc.
1230 Avenue of the Americas, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10020
212.698.7576

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