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Reading Dudley Randall's book, The Black Poets, while in prison provided an entryway to writing for Reginald Dwayne Betts. Convicted and incarcerated for 8 years for carjacking at the age of 16, his writing practice eventually led to a course in law at Yale and the receipt of the prestigious MacArthur genius grant. The grant has enabled him to expand his non-profit's Freedom Reads program which has shipped over 15,000 books to prisoners across the US, piloted 49 reading circles in 14 states, and developed curated reading lists. It is Betts' conviction that 'freedom begins with a book' and can reveal new worlds to those whose experiences have been limited by the barred doors of a cell. Betts hopes that bringing writers to meet the inmates and encouraging prisoners to write will remind people of the commonality of experience and make them aware of the brutality of existence in prisons.
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