Nebo Poetry Editor R. Dwayne Betts Receives Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship

Sept. 5, 2012 - PRLog -- "It feels good to have won the Lilly Fellowship," says Betts. A MD native, R. Dwayne Betts earned his BA from the University of Maryland and his MFA from Warren Wilson College. He is the author of a collection of poetry, Shahid Reads His Own Palm (2010), as well as a memoir, A Question of Freedom: A Memoir of Learning, Survival, and Coming of Age in Prison (2009). Betts is also a national spokesperson for the Campaign for Youth Justice and an appointee to the Obama Administration’s Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in a number of magazines, including the New England Review, theNormal School, Ploughshares, Poetry, and Poet Lore, among others.

The editors of Poetry magazine selected the winning manuscripts from more than 1,000 submissions. In announcing the winners, Poetry senior editor Don Share said, “When Harriet Monroe founded Poetry one hundred years ago, she excelled at discovering and nurturing young poets. I think she would be very pleased with the 2012 Ruth Lilly Fellows." Editor Christian Wiman added, “The history of Poetry is filled with some of the best-known names in American poetry; my guess is that these young poets will be among those we'll be talking about in the years to come."

"Thanks to the folks at the Poetry Foundation for seeing something in the work," Betts says. He believes that his winning will help to inspire others to share their work and take advantage of the opportunties that are afforded to them to share their talents with the world.

Find out more about Betts by visiting http://www.rdwaynebetts.com/.