How Many Books Have You Put in Prison?

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At this point, we've done 60 libraries across seven states in 19 prisons. We're going to be enough Dakota in a few months. One of the most deeply moving things that I did my, my solo show in Angola at the, they got a rodeo and Angola that they do every year. It was deeply, deeply, deeply meaningful and powerful. And it made me recognize that when you talk about that search of beauty and that wealth of beauty.

Dwayne Betts was a 16-year-old in solitary confinement when a fellow inmate slid a book of poetry under his cell door. What happened next is an astounding story of transformation: from desperation to the discovery of beauty, even behind bars. Listen as the lawyer, prison reform advocate, and award-winning poet explains to EconTalk host Russ Roberts why he's on a mission to bring books--and beauty--into prisons. They also discuss Betts's latest book, Redaction, a collaboration with the artist Titus Kaphar.