American Book Awards
1回登壇
-
第41回（2020年） Winner
Reginald Dwayne Betts
レジナルド・ドウェイン・ベッツ
Reginald Dwayne Betts
ペンネーム:
Shahid（Name given during incarceration (nickname)）
プロフィール
- 性別
- 男性
- 生誕
- Maryland, U.S.
- 国籍
- United States
- 言語
- English
- 居住地歴
- District Heights, Maryland → Bowie, Maryland → Washington, D.C. area → New Haven, Connecticut → Cambridge, Massachusetts
経歴
- 職業
- poet, legal scholar, educator, prison reform advocate, lawyer, teacher
- 活動期間
- 2002年〜2025年
- 所属
- Yale Law School (Associate Research Scholar in Law), Harvard University (Visiting Lecturer on English), Freedom Reads (Founder & Director), Campaign for Youth Justice (national spokesman)
- 影響を受けた人物
- Dudley Randall, Robert Hayden, Sonia Sanchez, Lucille Clifton
学歴
| 学校 | 学部 | 学科 | 学位 | 期間 | 国 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prince George's Community College | — | — | — | — | United States |
| University of Maryland, College Park | — | — | 学士 (BA) | — | United States |
| Warren Wilson College | — | Creative Writing | M.F.A. | — | United States |
| Yale University (Yale Law School) | Law School | — | Juris Doctor (JD) | — | United States |
Prince George's Community College
国:
United States
Attended after incarceration; worked at a local bookstore while studying
University of Maryland, College Park
学位:
学士 (BA)
国:
United States
Warren Wilson College
Creative Writing
学位:
M.F.A.
卒業年:
2010
国:
United States
M.F.A. in Creative Writing
Yale University (Yale Law School)
Law School
学位:
Juris Doctor (JD)
卒業年:
2016
国:
United States
Later began coursework toward a Ph.D. in law at Yale
受賞歴
| 年 | 賞名 | 対象作品 | 部門 | 主催 | 結果 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Beatrice Hawley Award | Shahid Reads His Own Palm | — | The Society of the Hawley Family | 受賞 |
| 2010 | Open Society Foundations Fellowship | — | — | Open Society Foundations | 受賞 |
| 2010 | NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Debut Author | A Question of Freedom: A Memoir of Learning, Survival, and Coming of Age in Prison | — | NAACP | 受賞 |
| 2017 | Israel H. Peres Prize | Only Once I Thought About Suicide (student comment) | 学生コメンタリー | Yale Law Journal | 受賞 |
| 2018 | PEN America Writing for Justice Fellowship | — | — | PEN America | 受賞 |
| 2018 | Guggenheim Fellowship | — | — | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation | 受賞 |
| 2021 | MacArthur Fellowship | — | — | MacArthur Foundation | 受賞 |
Beatrice Hawley Award
2009
対象作品:
Shahid Reads His Own Palm
主催:
The Society of the Hawley Family
結果:
受賞
Open Society Foundations Fellowship
2010
主催:
Open Society Foundations
結果:
受賞
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Debut Author
2010
対象作品:
A Question of Freedom: A Memoir of Learning, Survival, and Coming of Age in Prison
主催:
NAACP
結果:
受賞
Israel H. Peres Prize
2017
対象作品:
Only Once I Thought About Suicide (student comment)
部門:
学生コメンタリー
主催:
Yale Law Journal
結果:
受賞
PEN America Writing for Justice Fellowship
2018
主催:
PEN America
結果:
受賞
Guggenheim Fellowship
2018
主催:
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
結果:
受賞
MacArthur Fellowship
2021
主催:
MacArthur Foundation
結果:
受賞
受賞・候補エディション
-
第42回（2021年） Winner
作品
代表作
Near Burn and Burden: a collection of poems
2010年 PoetryAn early collection exploring incarceration, personal growth, and the restorative power of language.
incarcerationpersonal recoverylanguage and expression
Shahid Reads His Own Palm
2010年 PoetryPoems reflecting on incarceration, identity, and testimony; winner of the Beatrice Hawley Award.
prison lifetestimonyidentity
Bastards of the Reagan Era
2015年 PoetryA collection critiquing the effects of generational politics and policies, illuminating connections between incarceration and society.
social critiquepolicygeneration
Felon: Poems
2019年 PoetryA poetic exploration of criminal labeling and its social impacts, intersecting personal experience with systemic issues.
labeling as a felonsystemspersonal narrative
Redaction
2023年 Poetry / CollaborationA collaborative work with visual artist Titus Kaphar exploring redaction, memory, and censorship of language.
redactionmemorycensorship
Doggerel: Poems
2025年 PoetryLatest collection featuring linguistic play and sharp social observation.
linguistic experimentationsocial observation
A Question of Freedom: A Memoir of Learning, Survival, and Coming of Age in Prison
2010年 Memoir / Non-fictionA memoir recounting incarceration, the discovery of poetry, and rebuilding life after release.
memoireducationrehabilitation
全著作
- Near Burn and Burden: a collection of poems (2010)
- Shahid Reads His Own Palm (2010)
- A Question of Freedom: A Memoir of Learning, Survival, and Coming of Age in Prison (2010)
- Bastards of the Reagan Era (2015)
- Felon: Poems (2019)
- Redaction (2023)
- Doggerel: Poems (2025)
作風・主題
- 文体
- forthright, testimonial voicenarrative and lyric poetic styleinterweaving legal and political concerns
- 頻出モチーフ
- images of prison and confinementfreedom and rehabilitationreading and educationidentity
評価・遺産
Combines poetic practice with legal expertise to advocate for prison education and justice reform. Founder of Freedom Reads and influential both as a poet and an advocate for systemic change.
引用
-
In a poem you can give somebody a whole world.
出典: NGC Bocas Lit Fest (speech) (2016年)
豆知識
- Was given the name 'Shahid' during incarceration.
- Founded Freedom Reads and launched the project with a $5.25 million Mellon Foundation grant.
- Named to the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention by President Barack Obama.