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Learn moreALL DAY is a behind-the-bars, personal glimpse into the issue of mass incarceration via an unpredictable, insightful and ultimately hopeful reflection on teaching teens while they await sentencing.
ALL DAY is a story of my journey finding love and purpose in an unexpected, dark place. Like most New York City transplants, I came with a dream of doing something extraordinary-becoming a supermodel. I did the Paris-New York-Milan couture romp, 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 their shine. I was searching for my identity, my voice, my calling. When I took a theater class, I discovered a passion for acting and journaling. Then I landed roles in several independent feature films. The renowned Nuyorican Poets Cafe nurtured my calling as a poet and playwright. I performed on HBO's Def Poetry Jam and on PBS's Between the Lions. My poems evolved into monologues, then plays, and when I looked up I had a one-woman show.
When I stumbled into teaching incarcerated boys at Island Academy-the high school for inmates detained on Rikers Island-I was merely looking for a steady job that paid more than poetry gigs, to pay my rent and get on my feet financially.
I started as a teaching artist, conducting poetry and creative writing workshops. It was supposed to be temporary. But a funny thing happens when passion meets purpose. So it's been 18 years and counting that I've been working with incarcerated youth in multiple capacities. This book is about experiences during my first year as a full-time GED teacher for incarcerated boys. My hope is that it will give you insight into a draconian subworld where so many of our children languish. May it allow you to understand the plight of young adolescent boys behind bars and feel, as I do, that they are worth our love and attention.
Liza Jessie Peterson has worked with incarcerated youth -- both male and female -- in various capacities for twenty years as a teaching artist, poet-in-residence, NYC Board of Education full-time GED teacher, re-entry specialist, outreach coordinator, and most recently as a program counselor with the NYC Department of Corrections. She appeared on two seasons of HBO's groundbreaking Def Poetry and was featured in Ava Duvernay's critically acclaimed film The 13th. Her one-woman stage play, The Peculiar Patriot, toured in more than thirty-five penitentiaries across the country and the full production premiered in New York at the National Black Theater in 2017 and received an Agnes Gund Art for Justice Fund grant. Liza is a writer, actress, speaker who lives in Brooklyn.
Liza Jessie Peterson has worked with incarcerated youth -- both male and female -- in various capacities for twenty years as a teaching artist, poet-in-residence, NYC Board of Education full-time GED teacher, re-entry specialist, outreach coordinator, and most recently as a program counselor with the NYC Department of Corrections. She appeared on two seasons of HBO's groundbreaking Def Poetry and was featured in Ava Duvernay's critically acclaimed film The 13th. Her one-woman stage play, The Peculiar Patriot, toured in more than thirty-five penitentiaries across the country and the full production premiered in New York at the National Black Theater in 2017 and received an Agnes Gund Art for Justice Fund grant. Liza is a writer, actress, speaker who lives in Brooklyn.
Reviews
"It's a really bad idea to send children to prison. It only breeds a criminal class. Liza Peterson has spent most of her adult life working to undo the harm done by the prison system, working one-on-one from the bowels of the notorious Rikers Island. She has poured her heart and soul into guiding and loving these young people who, if directed, can make miraculous contributions to society. Read her journey and know that we as a society have to do better for these at risk children."โp.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 24.0px Calibri; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}span.s1 {font-kerning: none}Russell Simmons, entrepreneur, author, activist, philanthropist Liza Jesse Peterson speaks the recipe of all of our freedom into existence. And magnificently so!โAbiodun Oyewole, founding member of The Last Poets, author of Branches of the Tree of Life "Liza Jessie Peterson's ALL DAY is a must read for anyone who has ever cared about young people - and all people. Peterson brings amazing warmth, love and laughter to the devastating state of our juvenile justice system. In her able and gifted hands, we meet young people we will not soon forget. So glad this book is in the world."
โJacqueline Woodson, National Book Award winner for Brown Girl Dreaming and New York Times bestselling author of Another Brooklyn In a very real voice Liza Jessie Peterson recounts her days teaching young men imprisoned on Rikers Island awaiting trial. She switches between her street wise motherly voice to the voices and inner thoughts of young men struggling to maintain identity, dignity, credibility and sanity. Her interactions with them and them with each other are both heart wrenching and chilling at the same time. She peels back layer upon layer of these kid's reality and exposes the humanity and vulnerability of young men who are scared, beautiful and dangerous. As an educator and quite often a mother fiqure she steps inside their comfort zone and often brings out the very best these kids have to offer. The book is in many ways a teacher's quide of how to gain the trust and respect of kids who often see themselves as societies throwaways. Liza educates with a stern and loving hand and often brings about a meaningful change in these kids but also finds insights into herself about how to truly make a difference in the lives of children lost in the matrix.
โD. Watkins, author of The Cook Up All Day takes your breath even as it makes your heart beat faster with tension, fear, desperation and outrage. Liza Jessie Peterson's writing is magical, poetic and haunting. Her words force us to live as she lived - as teacher/artist/warrior fighting with all of her talent and power to help incarcerated youth escape the cycle of poverty, pain and oppression to stay "alive and free." Her lessons of liberation to her students become personal revelations that can help us move toward personal liberation.โJamal Joseph, professor at Columbia University, author of Tupak Shakur Legacy, Academy Award nominee, activist and former Rikers Island Inmate and Rikers High School Student Expand reviews