Reginald Dwayne Betts, Annabelle Gurwitch, and Max Gomez

Reginald Dwayne Betts, Annabelle Gurwitch, and Max Gomez

From Live Wire with Luke Burbank by PRX

March 20, 2026 · 52 min · Episode 709

About this episode

This episode features poet Reginald Dwayne Betts discussing his new collection and prison libraries, Annabelle Gurwitch reflecting on her cancer journey, and Max Gomez performing a protest song.

Acclaimed poet Reginald Dwayne Betts explains how dogs of all types found their way into his newest collection Doggerel, as well as his own dogged efforts to build libraries in prisons across America; actor and writer Annabelle Gurwitch reflects on her shocking cancer diagnosis and how she carpe diem(ed) until she found the beauty in the ordinary; and Americana musician Max Gomez gets the crowd singing along to a protest song about his home state of New Mexico, off his latest album Memory Mountain .

People in this episode

Host: Luke Burbank

Guests: Reginald Dwayne Betts, Annabelle Gurwitch, Max Gomez

Topics covered

  • poetry
  • cancer
  • protest music
  • prison libraries
  • Americana
  • personal stories

Keywords

  • poet
  • cancer diagnosis
  • protest song
  • libraries
  • Americana music
  • personal reflection

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: PRX

Books & works: Doggerel, Memory Mountain

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