23 May, 2023Print
Acclaimed Poet Reginald Dwayne Betts and Musician Reed Turchi Make an Unlikely + Riveting Pair on New Spoken-Word Project, House of Unending, Out August 25
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Today, Reginald Dwayne Betts –– American poet, legal scholar, MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient, educator, and prison reform advocate –– and musician & producer Reed Turchi –– whose work has been featured by Rolling Stone, PBS, NPR and more –– announce House of Unending, their forthcoming spoken word project fusing poetry, melody and raw feeling, out August 25. In an unlikely but riveting pairing, Betts and Turchi meld spoken word and slide-guitar improvisation, showcasing their shared sensibilities and underlying rhythms. For years the two traded mix CDs and poems and discussed a potential partnership, aiming to bring together the blues-guitar influence Turchi picked up in North Mississippi and Betts' poetic subject material. The 11-track culmination finds Betts’ powerful message further emboldened by Turchi’s driving musicality.
Alongside the official project announcement, Betts and Turchi share “Essay on Reentry,” not only a sampling from House of Unending, but the project's opening. The fervent introduction sets the tone as it replays a collect call from prison Betts has with someone. "Essay on Reentry'' is a piece that centers around the subject Betts is conversing with and what it means to leave – and yet forever be shaped by – prison. He’s recently been featured in The New Yorker, CBS Sunday Morning, NPR, Good Morning America, and also contributes to The New York Times.
Listen to “Essay on Reentry” here:
The creation of House of Unending began over a decade ago, when Betts and Turchi first met in a scenario that can only be described as kismet: as two-on-two teammates on a basketball court, facing off against poets Alan Shapiro and Rob Cohen at the Warren Wilson College MFA Program for Writers. Betts was only recently home from his nine-year prison sentence, pursuing the MFA in poetry that would prove to be a lineage of degrees, including a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School. In 2021, he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship (“Genius Grant”) and is currently working on a PhD in Law at Yale University.
Reginald Dwayne Betts has a truly unique story and journey that is an inspiring testament to the power of redemption and transformation. Once an aspiring poet from a disadvantaged background, Betts's life took a tragic turn when, at the age of 16, he was sentenced to nine years in prison for a carjacking. During his incarceration, Betts immersed himself in literature, discovering a profound love for words that would change his life forever. Upon his release, he dedicated himself to education and advocacy, earning a law degree from Yale and becoming a prominent voice in criminal justice reform. Today, Betts uses his powerful artistry to shed light on the complexities of the American justice system and to offer hope to those who have experienced its harsh realities. His story serves as a poignant reminder that resilience, education, and the written word have the power to transcend the darkest of circumstances
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In House of Unending what emerges is a shared inner ear, shaped by poetic and musical influences. As Betts begins each poem—part recitation, part improvisation—Turchi finds moods, notes, and rhythms that pair with the underlying cadence and subject. Betts delivers his words line by line, breath by breath, and Turchi, through guitar, finds ways to match this breathing. What results is not Turchi following Betts, or Betts flattened into a monotone due to direction of the guitar, but a symbiotic relationship that allows both music and word to develop, explore, and intertwine.
Pre-order House Of Unending here
House of Unending Tracklist Essay on Reentry November 5, 1980 Going Back Losing Her Blood History In Missouri Ballad of the Groundhog Whiskey for Breakfast A Man Drops a Coat on the Sidewalk For a Bail Denied In Alabama |
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About Reed Turchi: Reed Turchi is a musician and producer who has toured North America and Europe, directed record labels, scored films, created sound installations, and collaborated with chefs, poets, distillers, and photographers. His work has been featured by Rolling Stone, PBS, NPR, KEXP, American Songwriter, Daytrotter, and The Oxford American among others, and in January 2023 he received his MFA in Poetry from Warren Wilson College. Raised in the Swannanoa Valley of Western North Carolina, he now resides in Brooklyn, after a decade in Nashville, Memphis, and North Mississippi.
About Reginald Dwayne Betts: Reginald Dwayne Betts is a poet and lawyer. A 2021 MacArthur Fellow, he is the Executive Director of Freedom Reads, a not-for-profit organization that is radically transforming the access to literature in prisons through the installation of Freedom Libraries in prisons across this country. For more than twenty-years, he has used his poetry and essays to explore the world of prison and the effects of violence and incarceration on American society. The author of a memoir and three collections of poetry, he has transformed his latest collection of poetry, the American Book Award winning Felon, into a solo theater show that explores the post incarceration experience and lingering consequences of a criminal record through poetry, stories, and engaging with the timeless and transcendental art of paper-making. In 2019, Betts won the National Magazine Award in the Essays and Criticism category for his NY Times Magazine essay that chronicles his journey from prison to becoming a licensed attorney. He has been awarded a Radcliffe Fellowship from Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Study, a Guggenheim Fellowship, an Emerson Fellow at New America, and most recently a Civil Society Fellow at Aspen. Betts holds a J.D. from Yale Law School.
For more information visit: https://www.houseofunending.com/about
For Press Inquiries Contact: Matt Hanks | Shore Fire Media | mhanks@shorefire.com Jerome Ware | Shore Fire Media | jware@shorefire.com Rachel Jacobs | Shore Fire Media | rjacobs@shorefire.com |