A Pandemic Puppy Inspired Reginald Dwayne Betts’s New Book

The New York Times interviewed Visiting Lecturer on English Reginald Dwayne Betts on his new book of poetry, "Doggerel." An excerpt is included below.  

What books are on your night stand?

“Joyful,” by Ingrid Fetell Lee; “Don’t Read Poetry,” by Stephanie Burt; and “Figures of Speech,” by Arthur Quinn. “Joyful” is really dope — making the case for how beauty, which is what we bring to folks in prison with our Freedom Libraries, brings joy to people on the inside.

What’s the most interesting thing you learned from a book recently?

Reading “The World’s Fastest Man,” Michael Kranish’s biography of Major Taylor, I learned that the bicycle was the center of the Industrial Revolution. Learned that, barely after antebellum slavery, Taylor was an international star. Learned, too, that Taylor died tragically trying to escape poverty by telling the story of his remarkable life.
 

In a campus appearance, you asked a student when he last had a poem read out loud to him. Why was that an important question?

I like random acts of poetry, moments when we bring poems into the air and into each other’s orbits. I find it interesting that many of us, as students of poetry, weren’t called on to do this more. Then, I remember that it’s only with this book that I have done that consistently. And having done it, will say it’s been an amazing experience, reading poems to people in the streets, in Ubers, on planes and trains.

Read more here.