Richard Betts, in his graceful and deeply moving second collection, continues his thoughtful and philosophical approach to poetry. This book represents an eloquent outpouring of 56 new poems that are much more personal and introspective than his previous writings. It is a testament that invites readers to share his vision of experiences we all have in common: strength and weakness, joy and sorrow, desire and disdain, faith and skepticism, tenderness and tenacity and life and our own mortality. Much like his first book, Betts's poems are constantly on the attack, and his subjects are as various as his viewpoints. "Vision" focuses on the heartbreak of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), "Omnipotence" and "Crumble" investigate the question of suffering versus faith, "Correct?" looks at the dangers of political correctness and "Disbelief" focuses on the numerous questions one asks following the tragic death of a loved one. Betts avoids slowing his poems down with indecipherable symbolism, opting instead for works that, with his carefully chosen words, are fast paced and powerful.
Author Biography:
Born on December 8, 1964, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Richard Betts Jr., the second of four boys, was raised in the working-class section of Mayfair in northeast Philadelphia by his mother, Harriet, a classroom assistant in the Philadelphia Public School System, and father, Richard Sr., a truck driver for Pepsi-Cola. He attended public school in Philadelphia, attending Hamilton Disston Elementary School and Abraham Lincoln High School, graduating in 1978 and 1982, respectively. During his senior year of high school, he was awarded the Teamsters Local 830 Scholarship Fund Award and enrolled at Temple University in Philadelphia. Following his freshman year at Temple University, Betts transferred to Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a bachelor's degree in journalism in December 1986. In 1989, he married his college girlfriend, Pamela Sue Weisgarber, a native of Sharon, Pennsylvania, and the couple settled in the Tacony section of northeast Philadelphia. Their first son, Kennedy Christopher, was born in May 1996 and their second son, Ian Richard, was born two years later in August 1998. The author and his family moved from northeast Philadelphia to Warrington, Pennsylvania in 1999, where they currently reside. This is his second book. His first manuscript, The Poetry of Richard Betts, Jr., was published in February 2001. Following the release of his first book, he was inducted into the Abraham Lincoln High School Hall of Achievement in May 2002. He is employed as a Purchasing Specialist by the Delaware River Port Authority of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
