#FreedomReads
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susancorry.bsky.social
This is so inspiring and proof of the transformative power of books:

#kidlit #picturebooks #libraries #books #read #booksky #fiction #litfic #FreedomReads
A smuggled book changed his life. Now he’s built 500 prison libraries.
Reginald Dwayne Betts was locked up as a teenager for carjacking. Books were his escape, and he went on to be a poet, lawyer and founder of Freedom Reads.
wapo.st
October 26, 2025 at 8:32 PM
freedomreads.bsky.social
Join the Freedom Reads team next Tuesday, April 15th at @walpublib.bsky.social for a conversation about the importance of libraries and literature in prison cellblocks 📚

Register to attend virtually or in-person ➡️ www.wallingfordlibrary.org/event/librar...

#NationalLibraryWeek #FreedomReads
April 11, 2025 at 2:52 PM
freedomreads.bsky.social
📚 CT Public just spotlighted our libraries + the powerful work of carpenters like Jimmy Flynn—building shelves after 30 yrs inside. Each Freedom Library is a step toward dignity, beauty & freedom. www.ctpublic.org/news/2025-06... 💛

#FreedomReads
June 10, 2025 at 7:08 PM
freedomreads.bsky.social
And the book is! 🥁

The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus!

Got it right? You love your French existentialists! 💯

Final quote drops tomorrow. Same time. Same game.

#freedomreads #freedomlibrary #books #quotes #fun
July 24, 2025 at 8:52 PM
freedomreads.bsky.social
ICYMI: Catch Freedom Reads Founder & CEO Reginald Dwayne Betts on the @politicsprose.bsky.social podcast 🎧

Dwayne reads from his latest collection of poetry, Doggerel.

#NationalPoetryMonth #FreedomReads

➡️ open.spotify.com/episode/7BtW...
Reginald Dwayne Betts — Doggerel: Poems
open.spotify.com
April 21, 2025 at 6:28 PM
freedomreads.bsky.social
Happy #WorldPoetryDay from Freedom Reads 💫

Freedom Reads Founder & CEO Reginald Dwayne Betts is donating $.54 to Freedom Reads for every copy of Doggerel, his latest book of poetry, sold 📚 wwnorton.com/books/978132...

#FreedomReads #poetry @wwnorton.bsky.social
March 21, 2025 at 4:59 PM
freedomreads.bsky.social
Welcome to Season 2 of The Freedom Takes! 🎙️

In this episode, @dwaynebetts and Allie Salazar Gonzalez talk with Paul Harding about This Other Eden—a 2023 Booker Prize finalist.

Listen now: open.spotify.com/episode/74FL...
✨
#FreedomReads #InsideLiteraryPrize
July 9, 2025 at 3:34 PM
freedomreads.bsky.social
This weekend, Freedom Reads was the Non-profit of the Night at the @brooklynnets.bsky.social game! 🏀

#FreedomReads
March 17, 2025 at 6:48 PM
freedomreads.bsky.social
And the book is! 🥁

The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin.

I hope you all had a fun week learning more about our Freedom Library books. The five books we discussed this week are all a part of the 500 book collection.

Have a beautiful weekend!

#freedomreads #freedomlibrary #books #quotes #fun
July 25, 2025 at 8:07 PM
freedomreads.bsky.social
Today, we honor Juneteenth knowing emancipation was just the beginning.

At Freedom Reads, we build prison libraries because freedom begins with access—to books, to beauty, to dignity.
#Juneteenth #FreedomReads #BooksChangeLives
June 19, 2025 at 8:20 PM
freedomreads.bsky.social
Freedom Reads showed up at #ALA2025!

Grateful for powerful convos, book lovers, & connecting with our board member Dr. Carla Hayden — a true champion for books & freedom. 📚💬

#FreedomReads #BooksChangeLives
July 2, 2025 at 9:07 PM
freedomreads.bsky.social
This week, Freedom Reads brought the #InsideLiteraryPrize to Cheshire & York CIs in CT. Incarcerated readers are judging Chain-Gang All-Stars, This Other Eden, On a Woman’s Madness, & Blackouts—proving literature belongs to everyone.

#FreedomReads #Connecticut #insideliteraryprize #2025
June 16, 2025 at 8:52 PM
freedomreads.bsky.social
Every Freedom Library opening gets us closer to our vision of a Freedom Library in every cellblock in every prison in the country ✨

#FreedomReads

📸 Gioncarlo Valentine
Man looks at the Freedom Library bookcases inside a prison.
February 13, 2025 at 8:18 PM
freedomreads.bsky.social
Season 2 of The Freedom Takes is here! @dwaynebetts & David Perez sit down with Justin Torres, author of Blackouts, winner of the 2023 National Book Award to talk rehumanization, storytelling & survival.

Listen now @ open.spotify.com/episode/2w2c...

#FreedomReads #InsideLiteraryPrize
July 7, 2025 at 4:33 PM
freedomreads.bsky.social
Final Day! And it has been such a blast sharing these clues with you all.

Can you guess where this quote comes from?

Share your guesses below!

Answer will be revealed by 5pm.

#freedomreads #freedomlibrary #books #quotes #fun
July 25, 2025 at 1:00 PM
freedomreads.bsky.social
Season 2 of The Freedom Takes is here!

First up: Astrid Roemer joins us to talk On a Woman’s Madness, feminism, & the power of words. Her novel was longlisted for the 2025 Int’l Booker & translated by Lucy Scott.

Listen now: open.spotify.com/episode/3Ybe... #FreedomReads
July 8, 2025 at 2:45 PM
freedomreads.bsky.social
Today, we're honoring Women's History Month with Audre Lorde's "A Litany for Survival."

The "Selected Works of Audre Lorde" appears in Freedom Libraries in dozens of prisons across the country 📚

#AudreLorde #WomensHistoryMonth #WomensHistoryMonth2025 #FreedomReads #poetry
Audre Lorde's poem "A Litany for Survival" typed on a blue background.
March 18, 2025 at 5:29 PM
freedomreads.bsky.social
As we reflected on our trip, members of the team expressed a feeling of "heaviness." But, we also came out of the trip with renewed purpose in our mission to bring joy, inspire hope, and help those Inside confront what prison does to the spirit. Freedom begins with a book.

#FreedomReads
The National Monument to Freedom at the Freedom Monument Sculpture Park.
February 11, 2025 at 9:27 PM
freedomreads.bsky.social
A big *thank you* to Ye Olde Bookshoppe in Wenatchee, WA for spreading the word about Freedom Reads ✨

If you are a bookstore owner or librarian interested in supporting Freedom Reads, contact media@freedomreads.org and we'll send you a self-standing poster to display in your store!

#FreedomReads
Bookstore counter surrounded by bookshelves with a poster about Freedom Reads in the middle of the image
May 21, 2025 at 8:27 PM
mrstad.bsky.social
Phenomenal. For me this went from the personal, to the big -- how do we live now? 💙📚 🤎🤍 #Grace #Decency #BeingHuman #Kindness #TheOther #ReginalDawyneBetts #FreedomReads 📖 ⚡🌪️ www.nytimes.com/2025/02/23/o...
Opinion | I Teach at Harvard. Store Managers See Me as a Threat. (Gift Article)
Maybe I just wanted to be seen as something other than a threat, a nuisance, because I happen to be Black.
www.nytimes.com
February 23, 2025 at 8:22 PM
umnenglish.bsky.social
Prof and poet Douglas Kearney is participating in an "Inside Literary Prize Tour" in which writers give readings in prisons in conjunction with the new major literary prize judged by incarcerated people.
#FreedomReads
Inside Literary Prize Tour kicks off: A unique literary recognition judged by incarcerated individuals
The Inside Literary Prize, an initiative where prisoners serve as the judges for a major U.S. book prize, began its inaugural tour.
brooklyneagle.com
April 4, 2024 at 7:44 PM
freedomreads.bsky.social
Last week, Freedom Reads brought the #InsideLiteraryPrize to 3 prisons in Puerto Rico, where incarcerated readers judged 4 powerful books. Their votes help decide the 2025 winner, announced in July. 📚

478 Freedom Libraries. 12 states & territories.

#freedomreads #puertorico
Screenshot of a press release titled "Freedom Reads Brings Inside Literary Prize to Puerto Rican Prisons." It announces that the national non-profit Freedom Reads facilitated book discussions, voting, and author events for the Inside Literary Prize at three prisons in Puerto Rico: Instituto de Bellas Artes, Instituto 501, and Complejo de Rehabilitación para las Mujeres. The release is dated June 5, 2025, from Hamden, Connecticut. Screenshot of quote from press release titled "Freedom Reads Brings Inside Literary Prize to Puerto Rican Prisons." It shares the gratitude of Carlos J. Delgado Cornier, Program Manager at the Puerto Rico Department of Correction and Rehabilitation to Freedom Reads. The release is dated June 5, 2025, from Hamden, Connecticut.
June 10, 2025 at 5:24 PM
freedomreads.bsky.social
Day 4! And we have another clue!

All week long we’re sharing powerful quotes from books in our Freedom Library.

Can you guess where the quote comes from?

Share your guesses below!

Answer will be revealed by 5pm.

#freedomreads #freedomlibrary #books #quotes #fun
July 24, 2025 at 1:02 PM
freedomreads.bsky.social
And the book is! 🥁

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou!

Got it right? You love Maya Angelou as much as we do! 🎉

New quote drops tomorrow. Same time. Same game.

#freedomreads #freedomlibrary #books #quotes #fun
July 23, 2025 at 8:53 PM
freedomreads.bsky.social
Day 2! And we have another clue!

All week long we’re sharing powerful quotes from books in our Freedom Library. Can you guess where the quote comes from?

Share your guesses below!

Answer will be revealed by 5pm.
#freedomreads #freedomlibrary #books #quotes #fun
July 23, 2025 at 1:21 PM