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| Dwayne Betts is a poet, teacher, and 2016 Yale Law candidate. His latest collection of poems is called Bastards of the Reagan Era. (Rachel Eliza Griffiths) |
I worked with adult and young offenders for many years and volunteered in prisons as a recovering 12 Step member. It will always give me great hope seeing individuals that make 180 degree positive changes in their lives through creativity.
In the 12 Step fellowship we are told we can't keep what we have unless we give it away. When I heard Dwayne Betts talk about his life I can see he is much more than a poet, he's what I would call wordsmith, activist, teacher and a changer of lives, giving hope to those of us who might seem or feel hopeless.
I heard him interview yesterday on CBC Radio.
His interview was inspiring and powerful.
I especially took note of how his letter writing over a period of eight years of incarceration was what gave him his voice. It exemplifies the power of the written word to change lives, and to change the world.
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