The Story of My Heart

The Story of My Heart anthologizes 10 years of Pongo-facilitated poetry written with youth residents at Child Study & Treatment Center (CSTC). CSTC is Washington State's largest psychiatric hospital for teens and children. Pongo Poetry Project engages youth in writing poetry to inspire healing and growth. Pongo's process particularly supports underserved communities and those who have a hard time expressing themselves. Our trained staff and volunteers establish writing projects inside juvenile detention centers, psychiatric hospitals, community behavioral health centers, and other sites. Our primary purpose is to provide a space for authors to understand their feelings, find their voices, and express their hope for a better future. For counselors, teachers, caregivers, and peer mentors, Pongo offers national trainings, free web resources, and a book about our methodology, Writing with At-Risk Youth: The Pongo Teen Writing Method by Richard Gold, Pongo's Founder.

"I believe in everything Pongo does. The happy contagion which springs from telling one's own true story, writing one's own thoughts, following the trail of imagination, continues to pass from person to person as a healing gift. Listen to these brave, beautiful voices and feel fortified on your own trail."

NAOMI SHIHAB NYE, Poetry Foundation's 2019-2021, Young People's Poet Laureate, Author of Cast Away: Poems of Our Time

"The poems in this collection are rich, authentic, and deeply resonant. Heartbreak, longing, fear, anger, love, perseverance, and hope wrestle for the upper hand as the youth at CSTC let the power of their experiences spill onto the page. Pongo has a 25-year history of eliciting powerful and inspiring poetry from youth who have experienced significant life challenges, and The Story of My Heart extends that tradition with great sensitivity, grace, and humanity."

KEVIN JONES, PhD, LCSW, Assistant Professor, Dorothy Day Social Work Program, Department of Sociology and Social Work, University of Portland

"My life is like a light flickering, no longer hiding in the dark," writes the poet Fiona. Hers is one of a chorus of remarkable voices in The Story of My Heart. With honesty and courage, these young writers tell of struggles with abuse, addiction, mental illness. And yet, the poems gathered here also speak of strength and resilience, a will to go on "even when life crumbles like broken bottles." The work of Pongo and programs like it is vital, a testament to the healing powers of poetry. The poet Sasha writes, "The story of my heart is so high and shiny, only eagles hear it. Deep and velvety-moles wear it tunneling home."

ELLEN BASS, MA, Poet, Editor, Author of Indigo; Co-author of The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Sexual Abuse

Ann Teplick is a poet, playwright, prose writer, and Teaching Artist, with an MFA in Creative Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. For twenty-three years she's written with youth in public schools, juvenile detention centers, hospitals, psychiatric units, and hospice centers. Ann began her work with Pongo in 2000, writing with youth in King County Juvenile Detention. In 2005, Ann started as Project Lead at Pongo's flagship site, Child Study and Treatment Center (CSTC) and has led the project with success ever since. Ann's plays have been showcased in Washington, Oregon, and Nova Scotia, and her writing has been published in numerous literary magazines including Raven Chronicles, Crab Creek Review, The Louisville Review, Hunger Mountain, Jack Straw Writers' Anthology, and more. Ann has been a Jack Straw and Hedgebrook Fellow and the recipient of many commissions to produce workshops, anthologies, and books of poetry.

Based in Seattle, Shaun McMichael has spent the last ten years teaching youth across the region, most of whom have experienced significant trauma. Over 40 of his short stories, essays, reviews, and author interviews have appeared in literary magazines, online and in print, such as The Chicago Tribune's Printers Row, Carrier Pigeon, Litro, Existere, PopMatters, and others. This is his poetic debut. His day job is as Program Manager for the Pongo Poetry Project, which engages youth in poetry writing to inspire healing from difficult life experiences. Shaun writes poetry with youth at sites like CSTC, a Washington State mental health treatment center for teens and children and CFJC-King County's Juvenile Detention Center. Shaun's essays on engaging trauma through poetry can be found on www.pongoteenwriting.org. Shaun can be found on LinkedIn and Instagram.