Writing with At-Risk Youth

Richard Gold, M.A. of Seattle founded the Pongo Teen Writing Project, a nonprofit that offers unique therapeutic poetry programs to adolescents who are homeless, in jail, or in other ways leading difficult lives. In its 17 years, Pongo has worked with over 6,000 teens. The Pongo web site contains writing activities for distressed youth and resources for teachers: www.pongoteenwriting.org. Prior to founding Pongo, Richard was managing editor of Microsoft Press. In 2010, Richard was named a Microsoft Integral Fellow, honored for his work with Pongo, by Bill and Melinda Gates and the Microsoft Alumni Foundation. A book of Richard’s illustrated poetry, The Odd Puppet Odyssey, was published in 2003. In this book, the character Pongo is a puppet who struggles awkwardly with becoming human, until he aspires to compassion.

Writing with At-Risk Youth: The Pongo Teen Writing Method provides a roadmap for therapists, counselors, and teachers to help troubled adolescents transform their lives through poetry. Both wise and pragmatic, Pongo reminds us that healing is art; that listening, validation, and respect are core elements of therapeutic relationships; and that human connections underlie our most basic needs and our most rewarding experiences.

• Editorial Review BoardSeries OverviewForewordPreface1. Childhood Trauma and the Benefits of Writing2. Pongo, Openness, and a Unique Joy3. The Special Role of the Writing Mentor4. Poetry as the Expressive Medium5. The Pongo Approach to Teaching Poetry6. A Model Pongo Writing Project7. Keeping Everyone Safe8. Introducing Poetry to Youth9. Overview of the One-on-One Process10.Taking Dictation11. Improvising Poetic Structures12. Using Fill-in-the-Blank Activities 13. Overview of the Group Process14. The Challenges of Group Process15. Publishing Teen PoetryEpilogue: Next StepsReferences