"I think those of us who have not had to deal with that kind of thing just have a very flat. Stereotype view of what it means to be in that situation," he says. "You can make that of a crime and having an identity suddenly thrust on you or chosen by you that is a. Unbearable surprise" He adds: "During my time in prison, I got into a single real fight."
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.