When Darren Sardelli was in elementary school, junior high, high school, and college, he played baseball, soccer, lacrosse, ice hockey, roller hockey, and a lot of video games. Although he always worked hard in school, he never enjoyed reading, writing, or doing homework. When Darren was sitting in class, he had the tendency to get distracted very easily and let his mind wander (he still does a lot of day-dreaming). Whenever Darren’s teachers called on him (to ask a question), most of the time he would have no idea what they were talking about. He was always in a world of his own.

Darren started to write down his thoughts and ideas when he was a junior in college (Loyola College in Maryland). One sunny spring day, he was thinking about what he wanted to do after college. The only idea that put a big simile on his face was : Writing Funny Books For Children. This was the first time ever that Darren thought about writing as a hobby or a career. That night, Darren had an amazing and inspirational dream that changed his life forever.

Darren’s Dream –
Darren was sitting in a rowboat with a fishing pole in his hand (on a lake out in the country). The sun was shining, the sky was blue, the water was calm and peaceful, and he was completely surrounded by nature. As he was fishing, he felt a strong tug on his line. When he saw what was at the end of his fishing line, he was surprised, shocked, and stunned. He expected to see a giant fish attached to his hook, but instead he saw a black wooden box. Darren took the box off his hook and held it for a few seconds.

Before opening this mysterious box, Darren imagined what might be inside (He hoped it would contain gold, silver, and diamonds). Little did he know, he was about to discover something that would send him on a fantastic journey. When he finally opened the box, a bright green light shot out of the box and turned everything in Darren’s dream green (the boat was green, the sun was green, the sky was green, the water was green, the air was green…Everything was green!). When Darren looked inside the box, he was amazed by what he saw. The biggest, brightest, greenest key he ever laid eyes on was in front of him. He had no idea what this key was to, but he knew it was for something special. Darren took a deep breathe, picked up the key, stared at it for a few seconds and right before he woke up, he said, “Writing is the key to my future.”

The rest of the night, Darren laid in his bed thinking about his incredible dream (as he slowly drifted back to sleep). As soon as he woke up the next morning, he jumped out of bed, grabbed a pen, and wrote a poem about a king who loved to play checkers. Although it was one of his worst poems, he really enjoyed writing it. From that day on, Darren started writing down all of his thoughts and ideas. Darren has over 40 marble note books filled with ideas for poems, stories, movies, songs, and books.

Today, Darren lives on Long Island (Long Beach, NY) where he writes, plays ice hockey, and works out. During the school year, Darren visits schools all over the country. His assemblies and workshops have inspired thousands of students to start writing funny poetry. You can check out some of their poems, illustrations, and letters on Darren’s Letters, Poetry, and Artwork page.