March 4, 2025 marked Reginald Dwayne Betts' 20th anniversary of his release from prison. To commemorate, he has released a poetry collection enveloping Blackness, masculinity, and vulnerability on the topic of prison’s impact on American life.
In this collection titled, Doggerel, Betts uses his voice to describe the way prison has shaped life in the US, through the lens of man’s best friend — a dog. This perspective ties in with his themes of companionship, family, and friendship. Throughout these works, Betts uses various styles in conversations with names such as Freddie Gibbs and Lil Wayne.
Critic and poet, Dan Chiasson of the New Yorker describes this collection as “how poems can be enlisted to radically disrupt narrative.”
Many of the elements incorporated in these pieces were from Betts’ own experiences. In 1996, he was incarcerated at the age of 16 in Fairfax, Virginia for armed carjacking. He was prosecuted as an adult and served nine years in prison. While incarcerated he began to read and write poetry.
Once released, Betts went on to get his MFA in Creative Writing from Warren Wilson College and his JD from Yale Law School. After Betts collected his titles of poet and lawyer, he added CEO and Founder to that list. Furthermore, he was awarded the MacArthur Fellowship, given to “talented individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction.” He has also received the Emerson Fellow at New America, the Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Radcliffe Fellowship from Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Study.
Betts founded Freedom Reads in 2020, a non-profit organization that set out to open libraries in prisons across the nation. These libraries contain over 500 books in their collection, varying in genres of non-fiction, fiction, poetry, and literature. Their mission is “to inspire hope, bring joy, and help incarcerated people confront the impact of prison on the spirit.”
Betts has also gone on to author four poetry collections along with a memoir, revolving around his experiences during his incarceration as well as on the topic of prison reform. He recently converted one of his most popular and award-winning works, Felon, into a solo theater performance titled, March Forth, where he covers the aftermath of being incarcerated and navigating society with a criminal record.
He brought this performance to the Perelman Performing Arts Center in NYC, for a one-night-only event on March 4, again, reinstating his 20th anniversary of release from prison. The event ticket prices ranged from $15-$75 but were on a pay-what-you-wish basis.
Betts wrote to his almost 7,000 followers on Instagram, “Today, March Forth, marks the 20th anniversary of my release from prison. On this day in 2005, I walked free, and now, two decades later, I explore the experience and lasting consequences of my incarceration in a powerful new solo performance.”
Since his release, Betts has been a notable advocate for prison reform and has accomplish much despite being incarcerated for almost a decade. Throughout all of his experiences and accomplishments in the last 20 years, he often says, “Freedom begins with a book.”