Marshall Poe
Marshall Poe
Randall Horton, "Dead Weight: A Memoir in Essays" (Northwestern UP, 2022)
Randall Horton, "Dead Weight: A Memoir in Essays" (Northwestern UP, 2022)
Randall Horton, "Dead Weight: A Memoir in Essays" (Northwestern UP, 2022)
Thursday 10th March 2022
Hear Randall Horton discuss his journey from drug smuggler to tenured professor, highlighting the power of education and personal transformation.
61 minutes
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Marshall Poe
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Get the buttons here!Randall Horton's Journey: From Conviction to Academia
But more than that, this sort of honest telling of your experiences is sadly unique in the literary scene.
Randall Horton’s story is nothing short of remarkable. In this episode, he shares the incredible journey that took him from being a drug smuggler with seven felony convictions to earning a PhD in creative writing and becoming a tenured professor. 'Dead Weight: A Memoir in Essays' is the centerpiece of this conversation, where Horton’s visceral essays lay bare the enduring struggles of changing one's life against the backdrop of past convictions.
Starting with an imagined dialogue with Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man statue, Horton examines the deep psychological scars left by racism and his own tumultuous history, including his separation from his mother in a segregated Alabama hospital right after birth. He reflects on the mental escapism cocaine provided and the allure of economic freedom that led him down a perilous path during the 1980s and 1990s.
Despite the weight of his past, Horton’s transformation highlights the redemptive power of education and the importance of language in reclaiming one’s narrative. This episode isn't just about personal redemption; it touches on broader issues like the psychological impact of felony convictions and the role of community organizations in aiding those struggling to turn their lives around. Horton’s honesty about above-street-level dealing and its effects on communities adds another layer of depth to his memoir.
If you're interested in stories of resilience, transformation, and the unyielding quest for a better life, this episode is a must-listen.