Debra Leigh Says

When my daughter was about four years old, she took it into her head to hide from me in a children’s clothing department at a Macy’s Department store.  For what only could have been about 2 minutes, I searched for her, called her name, enlisted the help of the saleswomen in the department.  The terror I felt was indescribable, fueled largely by the fact that this department was right near a triple set of glass doors leading out of the store and into the parking garage.  I was shaking with fear that my little girl had been taken, abducted.  My ordeal ended when a very tall man, who was walking through the department, saw us searching.  Being very tall, he was able to see down into the center of a circular clothing rack, and asked, “Is your little girl wearing a purple sweater, does she have long dark pigtails?” as he leaned in and scooped her out in one quick motion. His action terrified my daughter, who had no idea that a stranger could so easily hold her...

Those who know me know that, in addition to being a writer, playwright and educator, I founded an arts organization ( Hidden River Arts ) which has grown over the last ten years to include yearly fiction and drama competitions, an independent small press, an art gallery and arts outreach programs, including live events.  I am also an activist, with a passion for issues related to education.  It is in this role that I have struggled the most, often finding myself in despair over the terrible state of our public education in the U.S., the growing corporatization of education, through the corporate colonization of American higher education, and the push toward for-profit charter schools in K-12 education.  I despair of the deception, the greed, the cruelty I see in positions of power all around me. Today, a dear friend, Lee Colston who is an extremely talented playwright and actor, and who is no stranger himself to the challenges and struggles of pursuing a vision, po...