Felon: A poetic and immersive play — A discourse on race, incarceration, justice.

R. Dwayne Betts will present an excerpt of the solo show that he is developing based on “Felon.” The work engages with the contemporary moment, mass incarceration, and the challenges of having a complicated conversation about crime, punishment, and sorrow in contemporary America. This presentation essentially takes place in three parts. First, there is the excerpt of the solo show. Secondly, there is a brief discussion that frames the show in the broader context of literary work written that engages with the issues that feel so vital today and are so vital today but are also feature returns to past poetics, particularly a return to issues essential to understanding and engaging in the work of Etheridge Knight, Lucille Clifton, and John Edgar Wideman. Finally, there will be a question and answer section that allows Dwayne to explore these issues with the audience