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Poems Poetry is a valuable literacy tool and a critical part of our program. Poetry provides a way for young people to develop writing and critical thinking skills, and gain confidence. It is an effective way for connecting with issues that are important to teens. They use poetry as a mouthpiece to express their views about society, making them feel more empowered as citizens. Poetry answers their need to reflect on life’s experiences and gives meaning and order to these events. Through poetry, teens not only discover the language to express their thoughts and feelings, but also the pleasures of language itself. We celebrate the voices of young people through published poetry anthologies and public poetry readings. Making their writing and voices public is a meaningful and empowering experience for them that makes literacy irresistible. Click on the links below to read examples from our poetry writing exercises: |
 "I shared a poem that I wrote about my cousin who lets her man beat her, and when my cousin read the poem she cried because she knows I care about her, and to this day she is not with him."
— student, Illinois Department of Human Services, Teen Parent Services Program |
