
Poet Reginald Dwayne Betts has just released his latest poetry collection Doggerel.
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Reginald Dwayne Betts
Listener Supported WNYC Studios.
Alison Stewart
This is all of it. I'm Alison Stewart live from the WNYC studios in Soho. Thank you for sharing part of your day with us. I'm really grateful you are here. Coming up later on the show, an hour with Russell Shorto. He's the author of the new book Taking Manhattan. It focuses on how the island was first taken from the native people by the Dutch and then how the British swooped in and took it from them. It's an an incredible look at the 17th century. And we'll be spending an entire hour with him learning about the history. But first, we are kicking things off with some poetry. Reginald Dwayne Betts has a new book out of poetry. It's out today, actually. It's called Doggerel. There's a definition of doggerel on the first page, but it's kind of scratched out. Instead, he puts his own spin on the word. It reads, nah, just a black man writing poems about his dog and all the dogs he encounters on the street and how having extra four feet changed his world. And then he falls in love. The poems were written over time. Some were written when he was incarcerated as a young man. Some written later when he was a graduate of Yale Law School. Betts believes poetry matters. He believes books matter. So much so that he founded Freedom Reads, a library service to get books into the hands of incarcerated people. Freedom reads now started five years ago and there are about 419 Freedom Libraries in 12 states. Reginald Dwayne Betts is a lawyer, a MacArthur Fellow, and is now teaching at Harvard, I believe. And he is here to talk poetry. Nice to speak with you.
Reginald Dwayne Betts
It is truly an honor to be here, particularly today.
Alison Stewart
I love that your book's out today.
Reginald Dwayne Betts
Yeah, me too.
Alison Stewart
I'm just gonna go straight for it and I'm gonna ask you to read a poem that I really, I really like. It's called White Peonies.
Reginald Dwayne Betts
Oh, cool. I love that poem too.
Alison Stewart
All right, good. This is Reginald playing Betts.
Reginald Dwayne Betts
White Peonies. This is how it happens. One morning the ground is only the ground and then green shoots through the rich brown loam. I learned the word lone when I was starving for something Fools would call it Love. And I would say it was a time machine. Longing for some days, months, years. When the sorrows didn't bloom like this thing from the ground that I can barely name. Tell me how these peonies have migrated from Asia to my garden and found their way into my line of vision despite prison and all the suffering. I don't speak. It all happens so sudden, is what I mean to say. When sadness becomes a beauty before your eyes so startling, you ask friends what to name the flower before you. I admit I pretended to be God to give a name to this thing that gives me joy. I called it Sunday and then called it my firstborn. Have you ever been so rattled by the unexpected that you wanted someone's blessing to name the thing? The peonies are so lovely. They frighten me. They grow on thin stems longer than my arms, with blooms heavier than the stalks. But isn't it always so? The beauty of the world so hefty. We fear the world cannot stand it. And yet why would we not want to pray when we notice? Why do we forget that naming is the first kind of prayer? Even as the white fly was turned into scented oil against my skin?
Alison Stewart
That's Reginald Dwayne Betts reading from the book Doggerel Poems. This is your third book of poetry. And in the back you explain the way the book came about. And you write very clearly that poetry matters. Why do you believe that poetry matters?
Reginald Dwayne Betts
It's wild. It's my fourth book of poetry. I'm gonna say five, though.
Alison Stewart
Okay.
Reginald Dwayne Betts
Cause I want all my. And it's funny. Cause I say that because, you know, the images that start the book are pictures that come from poems I was writing in prison.
Alison Stewart
Yeah.
Reginald Dwayne Betts
And I mean, I literally, you know, I say I wrote five books, but really, I'm just saying that I've been counting these poems that I wrote in prison where you could see the holes I punched into the paper and how I stitched those pages together and the books I carried around the side with me. And I was a kid and I was writing those poems, trying to understand what it meant to be in prison. And some of the themes and ideas are things that, you know, kept me alive. And it all happened because of poetry. It literally opened up a world to me where some of this stuff is written in a super maximum security penitentiary where most of the people around me, you know, had life. And I've literally gotten some of those guys out of prison. I mean, it's kind of miraculous.
Alison Stewart
So what made you keep the images, the ones that we See in the book.
Reginald Dwayne Betts
Oh, I got those poems that's, you know, I got the book one day. I mean, you know, it's one of those things, and it is really hard. I traveled to five different prisons. It's hard to keep track of things. So I don't have everything that I wrote, but I mean, I got a stack of things to capture this one formative time period in my life. 1998, 1999. And I mean, I'm signed in the bottom of the pages, you know. You were serious?
Alison Stewart
You were serious?
Reginald Dwayne Betts
Yeah, I was serious. You even see me writing, you know, I got the phone number to the publisher.
Alison Stewart
I saw that in the back.
Reginald Dwayne Betts
Yeah, nobody, Nobody.
Alison Stewart
Check this out.
Reginald Dwayne Betts
I didn't get. I didn't get my book yet. Oh, man, if that. Hey, yo, if them brothers still around. It was, it was, it was. Yeah, it was the Baltimore bookstore I used to buy books from. And they would mail me books all of the time. Man, I almost felt like they were part of my community because I write them and they wrote me back and they were giving me this vital thing. I mean, you see me, I got Sony Sanchez phone in me. I mean, like, there's people that I was reading to survive the penitentiary and. And now I could call them. I mean, it's kind of humbling.
Alison Stewart
Do you remember the first poem? Poem or poet that meant something to you?
Reginald Dwayne Betts
Yeah, I mean, I had gotten really. Was Sonia Sanchez, Lucille Clifton, Robert Hayden at the first. Man, I don't believe I'm crying on tv.
Alison Stewart
It's radio. Nobody sees you.
Reginald Dwayne Betts
No, that's cool. I wasn't crying. No, I mean, the first book I bought, the first poetry book I bought was Sonia Sanchez, Homegirls and Hand Grenades. I was going to a super maximum security penitentiary. And that's the book I bought to take with me. It served me well. Really did.
Alison Stewart
What were you thinking about when you read poetry when you were incarcerated?
Reginald Dwayne Betts
I mean, everything. You know, I learned about move listening to Sonia Sanchez. I learned about Frederick Douglass listening to Robert Hayton. I learned about the world. Honestly. I learned to know myself better. And also I'm reading Ether's Night and I'm learning that the penitentiary is a legitimate subject of exploration. It is a legitimate place to explore what it means to be alive. And so, you know, when I started to write my own poems, that's what my own poems was about. Like, figuring out how to notice something around me that was more than just.
Alison Stewart
The suffering I was sharing with you. I've been writing poetry lately. Really bad poetry.
Reginald Dwayne Betts
Yeah, I love it.
Alison Stewart
Do you write in a journal? You see the pictures in the book? You wrote on whatever is possible. But now, do you set time aside to write? When do you write?
Reginald Dwayne Betts
I mean, I write anytime. I mean, the beautiful thing about this. I mean, some of these poems were literally written on the side of the road in Italy. Some were written, man. One of these poems. Arriving late, I wrote at the airport. I was so mad that day. It was like Mother's Day, or the day before Mother's Day. And we missed out playing, and I was mad, and I was trying to salvage the day. And we met a woman named Ellsberth. And she. She said, you know, you should have came to us. You was running late. You should have came to me. And, you know, as a black woman, saying, I would have made sure that you ain't messed up your mama's Mother's Day. And I said, you know what? That's okay. Me and my mom never hung out at the airport for three, four hours. And we hung out, and it was lovely. And I told this woman, I said, I'm gonna write a poem for you. Watch. And we were in one of the lounges, and I wrote the poem, and I wrote it on my phone. My mom was talking to my aunt, and my aunt was like, I don't know what this boy doing? He's scribbling. He might be writing something. And. And it became the poem. And I think the poem is beautiful. So for me, I write poems wherever I am. And if I have my phone, I now use my phone. If I gotta use a piece of paper, I use a piece of paper. If I just gotta remember it, I just remember it in the moment.
Alison Stewart
My guest is poet, lawyer and founder of Freedom Reads, Reginald Dwayne Betts. His new book is out today. It's called Doggerel. So you write in the back how you like to read your poems to people?
Reginald Dwayne Betts
Yeah.
Alison Stewart
You want to get them out into the world, you read it to your Uber driver. What do you get by reading your poems to strangers?
Reginald Dwayne Betts
I get to be a poet. You know, I get to be a poet in the world. And I also get to. I get to be vulnerable. I get to admit that I have something that I want you to enjoy and to find meaningful and appreciate the fact that you might not want it and you might not hear it the way I hear it, but there's something beautiful about not holding it all in. I feel like I tried to hold it in for a long time, and it almost buried me.
Alison Stewart
I'm gonna Ask you to read Losing Weight. This is the one you read to your Uber driver, I believe.
Reginald Dwayne Betts
Yeah, I like this one because I lost 60 pounds. Yeah, but much more than that. And this poem is one of the entryways into thinking about how my relationship with a dog and also with myself radically changed. Losing weight when I wanted to lose weight. When I started, it began with hunger, with needing to feel my body asking for more of it, all butter and salt and forgiveness for Hennessy cursing through these veins. Another tide ushering me back to all my prisons. It started with fear. Or not fear, but walking. Literally with what I'd feared. A dog with teeth that fled when threatened even if them vampire things wouldn't break my skin if I were another treat. We walked to the driveway's end. Then more steps into the space past the yard, feel safe into this Jack Russell terrier that fit inside my palm as a pistol once did. Let me slip all those memories. And yes, I began wanting the world as she did full gulps of ascent into my nose twitched like a conduit for what might be possible. And somehow more and more and more of me disappeared during those moments with my loves the puppy leading in the two lights illuminating my world. And maybe it's folly for a man to admit he is in love with a son young enough to still believe his father's burdens will not touch him. And the oldest son, who knows it doesn't matter because the only burden to worrying is never seeing your father weep. And now entire pieces of who I was have begun to fall from my body worries and so much more as I become wildly as light as wind as when my only burden was the cells I left behind.
Alison Stewart
That's Reginald Dwayne Betts. Tell us about your Jack Russell Taylor.
Reginald Dwayne Betts
Yeah, the dog we got during the pandemic, actually. And, you know, you get a dog and you gotta learn who you are by having a dog. And most of what you learn is that you're not in control. And walking a dog, it's interesting too, man. Walking a dog made me see how I had also been invisible. You know, I've been Ralph Ellison's nameless narrator. And having a dog made me visible in all kinds of ways. And it actually made me make myself visible, though, you know, it has given me permission, a wild permission to insert myself in people's conversations because they talk about having a dog and I miss my dog.
Alison Stewart
Is a poem. You have a poem here called Race, and it mentions Taylor again. Would you read that?
Reginald Dwayne Betts
Yeah, Taylor's get to be the Star of the book. You know, that's the thing. She probably asked me for royalties or at least for me to walk her more. Race once up 92. If a single step I race Taylor, a small Jack Russell whose heart, when resting, beats 50 times per minute and mine beats 53, if at all low, low like the resting rate of the champ the year he quit being Cashless Clay and chose to become Muhammad Ali. And ain't we all out here trying to become somebody? So once when Puppey wanted me to release her leash instead of holding tight, I say down, girl. And she lies all cool on the asphalt waiting to launch herself at the next child in cleats, but only with my say so and only to steal a kiss. Shahid understands the desire to be seen as more than a threat waiting to pounce. And so instead of saying, no, baby, I shall race and we run in these steps and my heart rattles and hers is audible even as her paws turn Tay tay, two steps at a time and for a glimmer into the DeLorean and maybe I'm flying back too if the fly is to be unafraid of the sunrise in your rib cage.
Alison Stewart
Shahid. That's what you used to call yourself. Yes.
Reginald Dwayne Betts
Yeah. Shahid.
Alison Stewart
Shahid. Why Shaheed in this poem?
Reginald Dwayne Betts
Yeah, it's sort of like, you know, I write this poetic poem called the Guzzle and it has a self referential in that you sign it in the last couplet. And I was thinking about how do I sign my name? And you got artists who do things like they put some mark in every poem and they know about it. It was, how do I put my signature on all of these poems and how do I give myself permission to remember that prison is a part of my experience, but it is not all of my experience. And so I'll have a line where it just creeps in, but it's not the whole thing. Shahid knows what it's like to be desired. It's more. There's something waiting to pounce and then I'm back. It's like, you know, it's like the poem within a poem. It's the story within the story. And for me, the story within the story. You know, it's a lot that came out of prison. And that's what it is here.
Alison Stewart
When you read the story, sometimes the dog references are really, really subtle. Sometimes they're metaphors. How did you go about. I don't know, is it a newfound love of dogs or is this a recent love of dogs?
Reginald Dwayne Betts
I think It's. I mean, it's new.
Alison Stewart
New.
Reginald Dwayne Betts
But also it changed my attention, and it was just really intense, I think, what I was feeling and how dogs and this particular dog became a way that I was seeing the world. And. And then, you know, as a writer, you just want a hook to be able to notice things differently. And it was so much that I just hadn't been noticing, and it was so wildly radical that it was connecting me to people in different ways. And then sometimes it wasn't even about the dog, but it was about how the dog was the bridge for me, wanting to say something else about a person. So the first times that the dogs showed up in poems, they just showed up. Because my homie, she loved dogs. Yo, and she loved her dog, and we had both got dogs during the pandemic, and. And I just, you know, wanted to slip the dog into a poem, and I figured it'd make her smile. I think it did.
Alison Stewart
Sounds like you love your dog.
Reginald Dwayne Betts
Yeah. I mean, I am learning that I love a lot of things, you know, I am learning, you know, a dog teaches you to love the world. Maybe it does. And I think maybe that's what I've learned in this book. And I learned in writing the book, and I learned what the dog is showing me. Yeah.
Alison Stewart
There's a poem devoted to your son Micah called Bike Ride. What's that about?
Reginald Dwayne Betts
Yeah, Makai. Makai.
Alison Stewart
Excuse me.
Reginald Dwayne Betts
No, I set him up.
Alison Stewart
My bad.
Reginald Dwayne Betts
He gonna spend the rest of his life fixing his name. You know, honestly, man, I was riding his bike, and I ride. I rode eight miles this morning, and. But back then, I could barely ride a mile and a half, and I wanted him to take a ride with me, and he did, man. And it was one of these beautiful father son moments that the next time I was riding up that same hill by myself, I had stopped to get my breath, and I looked to the left and I saw the spot. And, you know, my sons was there for me, have been there for me, and are really remarkable young people and. Can I read it?
Alison Stewart
Yes, please.
Reginald Dwayne Betts
Bike ride. Returning from a gravel path, I ride a bike with my oldest boy. And this is where he learns how the body fails you. Each time I pause, he asks if I'm okay. And I say yes and climb back on a bike as if I believe. I won't falter again. I know I will. The ride no more than two miles along an Italian road, but so much more than my body can take. These days, we've been searching for a haunted house, and I should admit that my son don't like birds. But I found this abandoned church and hundreds of wings turned it into a scene from Hitchcock. I wanted to share that mixture of joy and fear I felt I imagine he knew mostly I wanted to be close to him in a way that my father has never been to me. Back into that old church, we were interlopers and discovered barking that wanted us to take leave, particularly the Gandalf looking like little mutt in our path. Makai would have tangled with the beast to save me. I know as we ride and I stop and he asks if I'm okay. I don't know what it means for a child to see his father weep but know what it means to be saved by a song.
Alison Stewart
That's Reginald Dwayne Betts reading from his new book, Doggerel Poems. I want to ask you about Freedom Reads before we wrap up. It's celebrating its fifth anniversary. Congratulations for getting to five.
Reginald Dwayne Betts
Thank you.
Alison Stewart
You bring new books into prisons on hand built shelves. First of all, what kind of books do people want to read?
Reginald Dwayne Betts
You know, it's interesting. They want to read everything. And I should just say, you know, five years, if you get out of prison and you make it five years out, that means that you basically have a zero percent chance nearly of going back. So we all of the listeners to help Freedom Reads have a zero percent chance of ever stopping existence as long as we need it. And you say, what books do people want to read? Man, I saw this kid one day, delighted, so excited when he walked into his cell block and he saw the Freedom Library and saw the Odyssey. He was like, yo, they got the Odyssey. Y'all won't believe this. And then somebody on my team said, we got the Iliad too. And he was like, homer wrote another book. Because where we're readers in situations like this, often we get the first book of a series and we don't get the other books. And so people are delighted in that. They also want to read, you know, Jasmine Guillory. They want to read romance novels. They want to read the Faulkner's, the Baldwins, they want to read Toni Morrison. But then they also. Somebody loved this book called the Untold History of Wonder Woman. One of these books by Jill Lepore, a woman wrote us and was delighted by the book. People have written us, like, amazed at Hamlet, you know what I mean? And talking about interactions that they've had with each other about Hamlet. I met somebody whose mother worked with SA Cosby, and he said, my mom worked at Lowe's with SA Cosby. She been talking about this book. Man, this guy was so happy his mom wrote us and said he hadn't had that kind of joy in his voice since he'd been locked up. And I think Freedom Reads is about recognizing that literature is that bridge. I've been telling people a lot because I've been weeping a lot. And I've been riffing on a friend of mine, a poet, Sean Thomas Daughtery had a book called the Second O of Sorrow. And I've been saying, you know, maybe the second O of sorrow is the first O of joy. And in that bridge from sorrow to joy, understanding that that bridge includes everything about being able to have a capacious life. Literature is the things that provided me, the belief that it was possible, but also literally, the conduit, the rampway, the bridge that I built. Everything my life is based on, every love I've had, every meaningful relationship has been built on books. And so Freedom Reads is my bid to say, yo, that it matters and that we could do it for people in a way that we haven't and we could pay attention to people in a way that we haven't. And we could build more room for mercy, for forgiveness, and yes, for freedom.
Alison Stewart
If people want to know more about Freedom Reads, where should they go?
Reginald Dwayne Betts
They should go to our website, www.freedomreads.org.
Alison Stewart
My guest has been Reginald Wayne Betts. The name of his book is Doggerel Poems. Thanks for coming in.
Reginald Dwayne Betts
Thank you.
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Podcast Summary: "Reginald Dwayne Betts Explores Race & Masculinity Through Poems About Dogs"
Podcast Information:
Alison Stewart opens the episode by introducing Reginald Dwayne Betts, a multifaceted individual—a lawyer, MacArthur Fellow, Harvard professor, and founder of Freedom Reads. Betts' latest poetry collection, Doggerel, is highlighted as a significant cultural contribution released on the day of the podcast.
Alison Stewart [00:35]:
"Reginald Dwayne Betts is a lawyer, a MacArthur Fellow, and is now teaching at Harvard. And he is here to talk poetry."
Betts begins the conversation by reading one of his favorite poems from Doggerel, titled "White Peonies." The poem intricately weaves themes of growth, beauty emerging from sorrow, and the profound impact of naming—a metaphor for asserting existence and beauty amidst adversity.
Reginald Dwayne Betts [02:34]:
"Tell me how these peonies have migrated from Asia to my garden and found their way into my line of vision despite prison and all the suffering."
Alison inquires about Betts' belief in the significance of poetry. Betts passionately explains how poetry was a lifeline during his incarceration, fostering self-discovery and resilience. He emphasizes that poetry not only saved him but also empowered him to assist others in similar circumstances through his work with Freedom Reads.
Reginald Dwayne Betts [04:34]:
"Some of the themes and ideas are things that, you know, kept me alive. And it all happened because of poetry."
Betts shares personal anecdotes about writing poetry both inside and outside prison walls. He recounts how the physical act of writing—punching holes in paper and stitching pages—was a form of resistance and self-expression. These formative experiences laid the foundation for his poetic voice and commitment to literature as a transformative tool.
Reginald Dwayne Betts [06:15]:
"I was serious. You even see me writing, you know, I got the phone number to the publisher."
The conversation transitions to another of Betts' poems, "Losing Weight," which he originally read to his Uber driver. This poem explores his journey of physical and emotional transformation, symbolized through his relationship with his dog, Taylor. It reflects themes of vulnerability, love, and the reclamation of self.
Reginald Dwayne Betts [10:51]:
"Losing weight when I wanted to lose weight. When I started, it began with hunger... And somehow more and more and more of me disappeared during those moments with my loves the puppy..."
Betts elaborates on how dogs have become central to his poetic narrative, serving as metaphors for visibility, connection, and unconditional love. He explains that his dog Taylor not only inspires his writing but also facilitates deeper interactions with others, allowing him to bridge personal experiences with broader societal themes.
Reginald Dwayne Betts [12:59]:
"Having a dog made me visible in all kinds of ways. And it actually made me make myself visible, though, you know, it has given me permission to insert myself in people's conversations..."
Betts proceeds to read "Race," a poem that intertwines his identity with his dog Taylor, exploring the complexities of race and the human-animal bond. The poem delves into his personal history, aspirations, and the desire for recognition beyond societal labels.
Reginald Dwayne Betts [13:52]:
"Race once up 92. If a single step I race Taylor, a small Jack Russell whose heart, when resting, beats 50 times per minute and mine beats 53..."
Alison prompts Betts to discuss the origins of the dog references in his poetry. Betts recounts how acquiring a dog during the pandemic shifted his perspective, enhancing his attention to the present moment and enriching his interactions with others. This newfound love for dogs became a catalyst for his poetic exploration of identity and connection.
Reginald Dwayne Betts [16:37]:
"It was so much that I just hadn't been noticing, and it was so wildly radical that it was connecting me to people in different ways."
In a deeply personal segment, Betts reads "Bike Ride," a poem dedicated to his son, Makai. The poem captures the delicate balance between physical endurance and emotional bonding, illustrating the profound impact of father-son relationships amidst personal struggles.
Reginald Dwayne Betts [17:59]:
"Bike ride. Returning from a gravel path, I ride a bike with my oldest boy... I know what it means for a child to see his father weep but know what it means to be saved by a song."
As the episode progresses, Betts introduces Freedom Reads, his initiative aimed at providing incarcerated individuals with access to books. Celebrating its fifth anniversary, Freedom Reads now boasts 419 libraries across 12 states. Betts highlights the transformative power of literature in fostering education, empathy, and rehabilitation among inmates.
Reginald Dwayne Betts [20:26]:
"People want to read everything. They want to read romance novels. They want to read Faulkner's, the Baldwins, they want to read Toni Morrison... Freedom Reads is about recognizing that literature is that bridge."
He shares touching anecdotes of how books from Freedom Reads have brought joy and hope to inmates, illustrating the program's significant emotional and intellectual impact.
Alison Stewart wraps up the episode by directing listeners to Freedom Reads' website for more information. The interview concludes with expressions of gratitude between host and guest, emphasizing Betts' commitment to advancing cultural and literary enrichment through his work.
Alison Stewart [23:05]:
"My guest has been Reginald Wayne Betts. The name of his book is Doggerel Poems. Thanks for coming in."
Intersection of Personal and Cultural Narratives: Betts masterfully intertwines his personal experiences with broader cultural themes, particularly focusing on race and masculinity through the lens of his relationship with dogs.
Poetry as a Tool for Transformation: Betts' journey underscores the transformative power of poetry in personal redemption and societal change, highlighting its role in fostering resilience and connection.
Impact of Freedom Reads: The initiative exemplifies how access to literature can serve as a vital rehabilitative tool, providing inmates with opportunities for education, emotional expression, and reintegration into society.
Notable Quotes:
Reginald Dwayne Betts [04:34]:
"Some of the themes and ideas are things that... kept me alive. And it all happened because of poetry."
Reginald Dwayne Betts [10:46]:
"I get to be a poet in the world. And I also get to be vulnerable."
Reginald Dwayne Betts [20:26]:
"Freedom Reads is about recognizing that literature is that bridge."
This episode of All Of It offers an insightful exploration into how Reginald Dwayne Betts uses poetry to navigate and articulate complex themes of race, masculinity, and personal growth, while also demonstrating the profound societal impact of literary initiatives like Freedom Reads.