POEM OF THE WEEK
"You Can't Be Mad Forever" was written by a young woman, age 17, in juvenile detention. She writes: "If I could be heard, I would get the help I need." This powerful poem is in Pongo's new collection.
FEATURED ACTIVITIES
A Good Day / A Bad Day
Life can be complicated, a mix of good and bad. In this poem you can write about that strange mix. [ WRITE ]
I Just Thought You Should Know
Sometimes there are things we wish we could say to people who are no longer in our lives. In this poem you can write that letter. [ WRITE ]
COMING EVENTS
Workshop for Teachers and Counselors!
One-day training in Seattle, May 19!
Trauma Therapy Conference
Two workshops, "Restorative Retelling" in New Orleans, May 3-4.
Northwest Folklife Festival
Youth performances and much more, May 26-28.
PONGO MAKES NEWS
Video about Pongo in Juvie:
This video was filmed inside King County Juvenile Detention, where Richard explains Pongo's mission.
KING5 News on Pongo in Juvie:
A dramatic, in-depth story about Pongo's work in juvie, from KING5 (NBC) in Seattle. Creative and sensitive production. Extraordinary!
HI, TEENS! Hello, counselors and teachers! The Pongo Teen Writing Project is a volunteer, nonprofit program for teens who are on the streets, in jail, or in other ways leading difficult lives. We love to help young people express themselves through poetry, especially teens who have never written before. (And we want to share our teaching techniques with caring adults.) This site is dedicated to our authors!
PROJECT JOURNAL
Read Pongo's blog
Sharing stories of our work with teens
Pongo's blog is about the significance of expressing deeply felt pain in poetry - including the resilience that this writing represents, the healing that it allows, and the joy that it inspires. Some recent blog topics are Dear Mom, Trapped in Life, and When I Face My Fear. [READ]
TEEN WRITING
Welcome, Teens!
Pongo is place to express yourself
Teens, here you can WRITE FROM THE HEART about who you are as a person. You don’t have to be an experienced writer to create Pongo poetry. We appreciate the importance of what you have to say. Honesty is the quality we value most. Check out the Pongo writing activities, choose a topic, and give it a try. You might win Pongo's quarterly $50 Pongo Prize! For inspiration, check out all the serious poetry by other teens!
TEACHING RESOURCES
For Counselors and Teachers
How to use the Pongo website
Counselors and teachers, we want this web site to be a resource for you, as well as the teens. The many writing activities can be downloaded. The teen poems can be shared, as encouragement to new writers and as topics for meaningful discussion. The site gives an overview of Pongo’s methods and offers trainings. We'd like to hear from you and offer our support!
