A searing volume by a poet whose work conveys âthe visceral effect that prison has on identityâ (New York Times).
Felon tells the story of one man in fierce, dazzling poemsâ canvassing his wide range of emotions and experiences through homelessness, underemployment, love, drug abuse, domestic violence, fatherhood, and graceâ and, in doing so, creates a travelogue for an imagined life. Reginald Dwayne Betts confronts the funk of post-incarceration existence and examines prison not as a static space, but as a force that enacts pressure throughout a personâs life. Challenging the complexities of language, Betts animates what it means to be a âfelon.â
From âNightâ
What she tells me: prison killed you
my love, killed you so dead that youâre not
here now, youâre never here, youâre always.