The Pongo Publishing Teen Writing Project is a volunteer, nonprofit effort with Seattle teens who are in jail, on the streets, or leading difficult lives in other ways. Young people are given the outlet of writing poetry to express their trauma. Teens often respond by writing about losses that occurred when they were young children such as the death of a parent, abandonment, neglect, abuse, and a family member's addiction. These leave teens feeling depressed, confused, angry, and prone to substance abuse and destructive acting-out.

North Admiral resident Richard Gold founded Pongo in 1992. He is retired from Microsoft where he authored computer books, and volunteers with 10 other adults in Pongo. Some are teachers, writers, and counselors. Gold was named a Microsoft Integral Fellow by the Microsoft Alumni Association for his work with Pongo. At a banquet last November he was presented a medal by Bill and Melinda Gates, and received $25,000 from the Foundation for Pongo.

"We work inside juvenile detention, homeless shelters, psychiatric hospitals," he said. "Young people like to open up with poetry. It's very powerful. The kids we work with, we honor their anonymity by having other talented youth read their poetry in public, and their own poems, too. We've worked with 5,500 kids since Pongo began. I'm now getting poetry on our website from India, England, all over. What we are all about is 'Write from the heart about who you are'.

"A third of the kids we work with have never written poetry before," he added. "The kids at the Washington State Psychiatric Hospital in Tacoma write poetry about Dad beating Mom, alcoholism, being raped, the same things kids in juvenile detention write about. It's tough stuff."

Madison Cole of Arbor Heights is a freshman at Chief Sealth, and will read three poems at Folk Life Festival this weekend for Pongo. She will read a poem by a troubled teen about addiction, another poem about finding strength, and a poem of her own.

To clarify, Cole is not in the category of Pongo writers suffering trauma. She volunteers to read their poems for them to honor their anonymity. She also finds comfort in writing about her own childhood issues.

"My poetry is a big reflection on my childhood, and I write about my life currently, but have memorable experiences I will focus on a lot with my poetry," she said. "The poem I will read (at Folk Life) is about my heritage, my father's struggles. It's called 'What it Means to be a Cole'. It's sad but ends hopeful. The way my father's decisions in life has affected me personally. No matter who you are, or where your from, your voice deserves to be heard. Everyone has something they want to say and deserve to have it said, so I think this is an amazing program and cannot wait until it's a worldwide thing. It's fantastic."

Aaron Counts volunteers with Gold. He grew up near Delridge, went to Chief Sealth, and graduated in 1987.
"I was working at a high school reentry program here and the kids who came to us had been kicked out of traditional high schools or were severely behind in credits," he said. "We used creative writing and had them write personal poems and essays. These kids who never turned in an essay in their traditional high school were writing all this great stuff with us and reconnected with their educational process. That's when I learned about Pongo.

"I was luckier than some, not as lucky as others, growing up," added Counts. "My dad died when I was 14. My struggles had to do with figuring out what manhood means and sharing that with someone younger than you (a sibling). My older sister was affected in a more visible way, getting attention for being in trouble while I just faded away to try to figure it out. I write about that sometimes because If I am asking the kids to share deeply personal things than I feel I should, too.

"I partner with classroom teachers at Chief Sealth and do work at Richard Hugo House (center for literary arts). I worked with Madison's English class one day a week for eight weeks. What I am amazed at most is the level of empathy young people have for each other. It's a safe space to share in the classroom. Even someone with the roughest exterior has a heart in there and they recognize the bravery it takes for someone to stand up and put it out there."

"When young people share their writing and tell their stories openly they get a huge amount of support from their peers," said Gold. "They can share their writing with staff, therapists, judges, and family."

For more information about Pongo, visit: www.pongoteenwriting.org.