Reginald Dwayne Betts

“This is the brick & mortar of the America
that murdered Tamir & may stalk the laughter

in my backseat. I am a father driving
his Black sons to school & the death
of a Black boy rides shotgun & this
could be a funeral procession. The Death
a silent thing in the air, unmentioned-
because mentioning death invites taboo...”

“Lost in what's gone. Reinventing myself with lies:
I walk these streets, ruined by what I hide.
Jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine.

Did a stretch in prison to be show more released to a cell.
Returned to freedom penned by Orwell.
My noon temptation is now the Metro's third rail.

In my wallet, I carry around a daguerrotype,
A mugshot, no smiles, my name a tithe.
What must I pay for being this stereotype?”

^These 2 excerpts, are from [Felon: Poems]. It is a beautiful but also hard-hitting collection, directing an insightful spotlight on the Black experience in America today. It may end up being the best collection I have read this year. Warbling loud and clear... show less

When it’s difficult for me to focus, I tend to read poetry. This short collection surprisingly filled an empathetic void in me I didn’t know I had. Its focus on the emotional experience and effects of incarceration is both eerily timely and educational without being didactic. I mean, I know the stats. I’ve seen Ava Duvernay’s excellent documentary 13th. But I’ve never thought deeply on the heart of someone who has been incarcerated. I know incarceration marks a person indelibly. I show more had some dim idea of how. But this book made me think of what those marks look like in daily living, and what it takes to heal, or to try to.

(For a more detailed review, check out my website.) show less

I guess I just had a hard time with this. Apart from the fact that he did not commit a victimless crime, I just didn't love the poetry itself. I was hoping the poet would play with form a bit more? Obviously the redacted poems are super cool in their format but, besides this, they all look quite similar and I just got a bit bored.

I was particularly stunned by "Night" in which, if I've read correctly, we are being told that the speaker has stalked and physically abused "his woman" and still, show more somehow, we are meant to empathize with the fact that she is "a threat to the freedom [he] imagined she gave". If I am misinterpreting this relationship and poem, please let me know. I would HOPE and prefer that I am wrong or misread.

As for the whole "victimless crime" thing I mentioned, I just don't think any of these read as if the speaker believes they committed a crime that deserves punishment. I want to make it very clear that I 100% understand a lot of these poems are commenting on the unfair treatment experienced while in prison. "Punishment" does not include being humiliated, abused, and exploited. But I also think there have to be some slices of awareness when you've committed a crime that has hurt someone.

The severity of their environment, though, is fully formed and discusses in such a gut-wrenching way. The moments with the sons are some of the most emotional moments for me. These moments were the most honest. I most "liked" the poems "if absence was the source of silence", "mural for the heart", and "For a bail denied". There is some excellent commentary on the prison system and fatherhood .

Again, I am open to hearing other interpretations of this! Particularly in the poem Night, I'd like to know how others read it, what it really means, what I might have overlooked. show less

3.5 stars. It’s always difficult for me to rate poetry collections. This one was a mixed bag; some poems I thought were fantastic, and others were strung together like gibberish. Lots of run on sentences and confusion on my part, but the author was brutally honest in a way I really appreciated. Overall I love the concept and the fact that this book exists, but some of it fell through for me. Still worth reading for the perspective, and oh gosh, those blackout court document poems that will show more hit you in the gut. show less