When he was in the 10th grade, one of his my history teacher caught him reading Sherlock Holmes. He let me borrow a book called Selfies World and I remember being deeply enthralled by it. That's like five months before I go to prison before I call Jack the man,. You know, before I get nine years in prison.
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.