Mar 25 2022
Poet Reginald Dwayne Betts’s first-of-its kind library now sits in the National Building Museum. The signature Freedom Library created by the MacArthur fellow, poet and lawyer offers people for the first time a chance to see libraries just like it that are being installed in prisons across the country through Betts’s organization, Freedom Reads. The libraries aim to empower and transform the lives of people in prison through access to literature and beauty — providing books housed in handcrafted shelves designed to encourage community in the center of prison housing units.
“When you pick up a book, that helps you think about what it means to be alive in the world. When you have conversations about what it means to be alive in the world, suddenly, you’re beginning to understand yourself better, and in understanding yourself better, you’re better able to communicate something about your future,” said Betts, who was incarcerated at 16.
The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.