Dwayne Betts’ story is one of tribulation and triumph. At 16, he was tried as an adult and spent eight years in prison. He discovered a love for literature while incarcerated and decided to become a writer.
Dwayne Betts. photo credit: Mamadi Doumbouya
Since his release in 2005, Betts has published three books of poetry and one memoir, received accolades and fellowships from an NAACP image award to a Guggenheim fellowship; was appointed to the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention by President Obama and received a law degree from Yale. Currently, he is pursuing a Ph.D. in law while giving speeches across the U.S. Most recently, Betts and Elizabeth Alexander, the Mellon Foundation president, announced their Million Book Project—an initiative that will establish libraries in 1,000 prisons across the U.S.
Listen in to hear a moving testament on the power of literature and reading to change lives forever.
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area.
He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit.
Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.
