Podcast Summary

Podcast: All Of It

Host: Alison Stewart (WNYC)
Guest: Reginald Dwayne Betts
Episode: Reginald Dwayne Betts New Poetry Collection 'Doggerel'
Date: August 29, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode features a thought-provoking discussion with Reginald Dwayne Betts—lawyer, advocate, and award-winning poet—about his new poetry collection Doggerel, released exactly twenty years after his prison release. Betts and host Alison Stewart delve into how poetry became a lifeline for him during his incarceration, the profound impact of books on his life, his ongoing work to foster literacy and hope among incarcerated people, and the role of his dog and family in this latest book. Betts shares readings from his collection, illuminating how love, loss, and transformation shape both his poetry and his life.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Betts’ Background & the Birth of "Doggerel"

• Betts recounts his journey from being incarcerated at 16 to becoming a Yale-trained lawyer and acclaimed poet.
• Doggerel was published on the precise anniversary of his release from prison, symbolizing personal transformation and the power of art.
• His work with Freedom Reads, a project placing libraries in prisons (419 libraries in 12 states), highlights his belief in the tangible, life-changing importance of literature.

The Transformative Power of Poetry

• Betts explains how poetry provided meaning and survival during his years in prison:

  “It all happened because of poetry. It literally opened up a world to me...” (03:41)

• The collection features images and poems he created while incarcerated, some written on scraps of paper and stitched together by hand.
• The tactile remnants—poems with visible holes and signatures—represent a record of his emotional and creative journey.

Relationship with Literary Influences & Community

• Betts recalls how letters with bookstores and poets like Sonia Sanchez and Robert Hayden created a sense of community across prison walls:

  “Man, I was...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.” (05:15)

• His first poetry book was Homegirls and Hand Grenades by Sonia Sanchez:

  “I don’t believe I’m crying on tv.”
  Stewart: “It’s radio. Nobody sees it.”
  Betts: “Oh, that’s cool. I wasn’t crying.” (06:13)

Writing Practice After Prison

• Betts’ poetry now springs from everyday moments, from airports to roadside vistas in Italy, making his practice both spontaneous and anchored in the present:

  “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.” (08:22)

Notable Readings & Poems

“White Peonies, White Pennies” [01:27]

Betts opens with a reading of this reflective poem—using flowers as a metaphor for beauty, suffering, and renewal:

“When sadness becomes a beauty before your eyes, so startling, you ask friends what to name the flower before you... Why do we forget that naming is the first kind of prayer?” (01:27–03:05)

“Losing Weight” [09:40]

A poem rooted in transformation, Betts describes weight loss, relationship with his dog Taylor, and learning to love himself:

“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…” (10:40)

“Race” [12:41]

Blending his experience as a Black man and a dog owner, Betts uses playful and poignant metaphors about identity:

“Low, low, like the resting rate of the champ the year he quit being Cassius Clay and chose to become Muhammad Ali...Ain’t we all out here trying to become somebody.” (13:04)

“Bike Ride” [17:11]

A touching poem about Betts’ relationship with his son, exploring vulnerability, fatherhood, and gratitude:

“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 son.” (18:46)

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Vulnerability Through Poetry:

  “I get to be a poet in the world...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.” (09:06)

• On Naming as Prayer:

  “Why do we forget that naming is the first kind of prayer?” (about seeing beauty after sorrow) (02:58)

• On Dogs & Visibility:

  “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.” (11:53)

• On Love and Transformation:

  “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.” (16:28)

Important Timestamps

• Opening & Betts’ Introduction – 00:09–01:27
• Reading: “White Peonies, White Pennies” – 01:27–03:05
• Discussion: Poetry in Prison, Community – 03:05–06:36
• Betts on Writing Practice Today – 07:34–08:47
• Reading: “Losing Weight” – 09:40–11:41
• Dog as Muse & Symbol – 11:47–12:34
• Reading: “Race” – 12:41–14:09
• Reflections on Prison, Naming, and Identity – 14:11–16:24
• Love, Transformation, and Family – 16:28–18:52
• Reading: “Bike Ride” – 17:11–18:52

Tone and Atmosphere

The conversation is candid, warm, and deeply reflective, punctuated by laughter, vulnerability, and profound honesty about trauma, healing, and love. Betts’ readings are heartfelt and intimate, imbuing the episode with authenticity and hope.

For Further Listening

Reginald Dwayne Betts’ Doggerel is a testament to resilience and transformation, blending memory, family, and self-invention. Stewart’s interview sheds light on poetry’s role as testimony and redemption—not only for Betts, but as a universal instrument for making sense of pain and beauty alike.