Reginald Dwayne Betts

Reginald Dwayne Betts is a poet, lawyer, and the Founder and CEO of Freedom Reads, an initiative to radically transform access to literature in prisons.

The author of a memoir and five collections of poetry, Betts is a MacArthur Fellow and has been awarded fellowships from Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Study, the National Endowment for the Arts, Emerson Collective, and the Guggenheim Foundation. He holds a J.D. from Yale Law School.

Betts founded Freedom Reads in 2020 with a grant from the Mellon Foundation. To date, the organization has opened more than 500 Freedom Libraries in 50 adult and youth prisons across 13 states. These libraries provide a locus where conversation and community can begin inside and outside of prison walls, supporting the efforts of incarcerated individuals to imagine new possibilities for their lives.

Upcoming Events & Programs

Arcus Center

Student Meet-and-Greet

🗓️ Wednesday, November 12
🕠 5:30-6:30 pm
📍 Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership at Kalamazoo College (View Map)
🎟️ Free and open to all local college students

College students are warmly invited to a meet-and-greet with Reginald Dwayne Betts at the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership at Kalamazoo College! Join us for an informal conversation with Betts, and enjoy free refreshments while you’re here. Following this program, complimentary transportation to the WMU campus for our discussion of Doggerel will be provided for all students.

The Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership is located at 205 Monroe Street. Please note that the parking area directly in front of the front entrance of the building is reserved as accessible parking spaces. Those who do not require accessible parking may park along the west side of Monroe Street (opposite side from ACSJL) and on both sides of Academy Street.

College Students Register Here

Doggerel

Meet the Author: Discussing Doggerel with Reginald Dwayne Betts

🗓️ Wednesday, November 12
🕖 7–8:30pm
📍 WMU Multicultural Center, Trimpe Building, Room 1021 (View Map)
🎟️ Free and open to the public

Reginald Dwayne Betts’s latest poetry collection, Doggerel, explores themes of Blackness, masculinity, vulnerability, and intimacy in a unique way—through the lens of dogs. This philosophical examination of everyday life, combined with Betts’s personal experiences with incarceration and life after, integrates the political with the personal. All are welcome to join us as we discuss Doggerel with Betts in the Multicultural Center at Western Michigan University. Questions for the author are welcome and encouraged. Books will be available for purchase and signing following the discussion.

The Multicultural Center is located in room 1021 of the Adrian Trimpe Building on the campus of Western Michigan University, at 1003 Ring Road South. Free parking is available after 5 pm.

Register

College Students Register Here

Hina Aoyama, Voltaire, 2007, Black origami paper, Image courtesy of the artist, © Hina Aoyama.

College Tour of Washi Transformed: New Expressions in Japanese Paper

🗓️ Thursday, November 13
🕟 4:30–5:30pm
📍 Kalamazoo Institute of Arts
🎟️ Free and open to all local college students

Felon: An American Washi Tale is a solo performance in which Betts meditates on experiences of incarceration while exploring the creative and liberatory potentials of paper. The original set for this show was created in collaboration with visual artist Kyoko Ibe, crafted from “prison paper” that Ruth Lignen fashioned from the clothes of men Betts met in prison. Prior to Betts’ public lecture at the KIA, college students are invited to further explore the world of paper art, touring the traveling exhibition Washi Transformed: New Expressions in Japanese Paper with Rehema Barber, Director of Curatorial Services at the KIA. The exhibition includes highly textured two-dimensional works, expressive sculptures, and dramatic installations, featuring breathtaking works by Ibe and eight other contemporary Japanese artists. Local college students are invited to meet in the KIA lobby at 4:30 pm to begin this free tour of the exhibition.

Washi Transformed: New Expressions in Japanese Paper was organized by Meher McArthur and is toured by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC

College Students Register Here

The Ways that Paper Leads to Freedom
Public Lecture by Reginald Dwayne Betts

🗓️ Thursday, November 13
🕕 6–7pm
📍 Kalamazoo Institute of Arts
🎟️ Free and open to the public

During this talk, Betts will explore Felon: An American Washi Tale, a solo show that confronts the weight and legitimacy of the word “felon” through poetry, visual art, and performance. Drawing from his own story—sent to prison at 16, discovering poetry behind bars—Betts will offer an immersive meditation on incarceration, identity, and the power of art to reshape the narrative of who we are and who we might become.

Register

College Students Register Here

Book Discussion: Felon

🗓️ Wednesday, November 19
🕑 2–3pm
📍 Kalamazoo Institute of Arts
🎟️ Free and open to the public

Reginald Dwayne Betts tackles the complexities of life after incarceration through powerful poetry. Navigating themes of redemption, fatherhood, and identity, his poems offer a deeply personal reflection on justice, hope, and the long road to healing. This collection informs Betts’s solo show Felon: An American Washi Tale, in which Betts collaborated with artist Kyoko Ibe on sets made of “prison paper” sourced from clothes of incarcerated men. Please note that the author will not be in attendance for this event.

Register

College Students Register Here

This programming has been made possible by the generosity of our community partners:

Kalamazoo Public Library
Kalamazoo County Bar Association
This is a Bookstore & Bookbug Logo
English Department at KVCC
Kalamazoo Defender Logo