A Glimpse Into My Beginnings

After my mother succumbed to her drug addiction in late 1991, my grandmother curated my upbringing, convincing my uncle and aunt to take custody of me in Bartlett, Tennessee in 1992. It was there I began my journey in the arts & humanities early as an “accidental” actor but purposeful public speaking champion. At the time, I was 9 years old and just looking for ways to express myself. I signed up for a 4-H public speaking contest and wrote a speech entitled “Riding The City Bus” and the rest is history. I placed in 2nd. My first defeat was to a fellow public speaker who was dying of cancer. Looking back on this story, I now understand the the power of my story.

Where I Am Now

I have been back in the City of Memphis since June 2020, working as a writer, author, poet/master spoken word artist, arts & humanities administrator/consultant and entrepreneur. I have performed in a combination of poetry, theatre, dance and musical productions over 1,500 times for small, medium and large audiences in over 15 cities, 7 states and 2 countries and have a diverse background spanning food & beverage, construction mining and forestry equipment, high-end retail, hospitality and non-profit arts, humanities, education and financial literacy.

My Passions

Often my hobbies vary but my passions remain consistent.

Mine are primarily centered around non-fiction storytelling through the arts & humanities and sports; especially the crafts of writing poetry, spoken word theatre, podcasting, documentaries and narration.

I love to teach but not in the traditional sense.

I enjoy the structure of curriculum in the traditional classroom setting and outside of it. To be honest, I thrive in the traditional classroom setting and beyond. I prefer auditoriums and places where my voice can travel and engage with the voices and stories of others.

Over the years I’ve taught poetry & theatre acting at The John Dustin Buckman Boys & Girls Club, New Ballet Ensemble & School and recently received a teaching artist certification from The Orpheum Theatre Group in Memphis, Tennessee.  I created and hosted the first monologue slam (a theatrical monologue competition mixed with the elements of a poetry slam) at Hattiloo Theatre in 2017 and currently host and direct The 901 Poetry Open Mic at the Hi-Tone Café on Monday nights and at the Locol on Main Street on Saturday nights in Memphis, Tennessee.

My Background & Future Work

Much of my academic, volunteer and literary and performance background touches on dramatic and vivid themes related to (but not limited to) life, love, trauma, adventure and self-discovery as a working class artist growing up in Memphis, Tennessee and New York City in the late 20th and 21st century. My present and future work is rooted in the stories of my past experiences with a keen focus on becoming a New York Times #1 Best Seller, podcaster, and an arts and humanities philanthropist. I feel that my focus on these key things will help me continue to grow as a human bring as well as leverage my leadership skills to impact people, places and things.