Most New York City transplants come to the Big Apple with a dream of doing something extraordinary. I first came to New York by way of Philadelphia with a dream of becoming a supermodel. I did the Paris–New York–Milan couture romp for several years, not achieving supermodel status, but I managed to walk the runway for some of the fashion industry’s best designers. The luster and glam quickly lost its shine, as I found it unfulfilling to be judged solely on my looks. I was searching for my identity, my voice, my calling. Walking away from modeling, I decided to take a theater class and immediately felt alive and a spark was lit. I experienced an unshakable desire to express myself; I had something to say and it was through character that I discovered a passion for acting and journaling, which would quickly unveil my dormant poet and playwright. Both the stage and the page became a refuge for my creative spirit. I studied classical theater at Stella Adler and the National Shakespeare Conservatory in New York and later with the legendary Susan Batson (acting coach for the stars). I took classes religiously, auditioned frequently, and landed several independent feature films. But it was at the renowned Nuyorican Poets Cafe in lower Manhattan that I would nurture my calling as a poet and playwright. I performed on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, on PBS’s Between the Lions, and virtually all over New York wherever there was a mic reserved for poets. The poems evolved into monologues, which evolved into plays, and when I looked up I had a one-woman show under my belt with a second one gestating. When my sophomore solo show, The Peculiar Patriot, was born I performed it in more than thirty-five adult prisons around the country. From model, poet, and playwright to teaching in prison, this book is a testimony about my experiences once I stumbled upon teaching incarcerated boys as a full-time GED teacher at Island Academy, the high school for inmates detained on Rikers Island. Initially starting out as a teaching artist conducting poetry and creative writing workshops, I was merely looking for a steady job that would pay more than the poetry gigs, enabling me to pay my rent and get on my feet financially. It was supposed to be temporary, but a funny thing happened when passion met purpose, and so it’s been eighteen years and counting that I’ve been working in multiple capacities with incarcerated youth.
My hope is that this book will give you an insight into a draconian subworld where so many of our children languish and allow you to understand the plight of adolescent boys behind bars and feel, as I do, that they are worth our love and attention. All Day is a story of my journey finding love and purpose in an unexpected dark place.