Keynote Announcement: Reginald Dwayne Betts
A poet, lawyer, and McArthur genius winner, Reginald Dwayne Betts has spent over two decades exploring the world of prison and the effects of incarceration on American society. As the Executive Director of the non-profit Freedom Reads Initiative, he has led the effort to get literature into prisons to help empower people by imagining new possibilities for their lives. His award-winning books include A Question of Freedom, a memoir about his own journey from convicted felon to a Yale-trained lawyer, and Felon, a fierce, agile collection of poems that confronts the funk of post-incarceration existence and creates new forms from the redactions of his own court record. At Switchyard, he will perform a solo show based on Felon.
Learn more here: https://www.dwaynebetts.com/bio
Register now to join us for this talk as well as dozens of other sessions featuring keynotes, artist conversations, roundtable discussions, musical performances, and much more. Conference events will be held at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Tulsa, which has made a special rate available for festival attendees.