Emily's Help Publish Pongo Youth Poetry!

Pongo is an organization that's close to my heart and doing vital work. They mentor poetry with youth who have endured serious traumatic experiences, like abuse, neglect, and exposure to violence. Pongo's mentorship program offers relief to the youth they serve, and their young writers produce heart-rending, beautiful poetry in the process.

Pongo will release their 16th anthology of youth poetry, The Story of My Heart, this June but they need our help to do it. That's where we come in. I'm asking you to join us helping publish Pongo's next book. 

Pongo needs $5,000 to release the book and they've enlisted supporters like me to help. If I do my part and raise $1,000, we'll meet that goal.

To do so, I'll be donating all sales from my first poetry collection, Though the Walls Are Lit (Lost Horse Press, 2020), which imagines the act of reading as a doorway to the past and a means of living more fully with the losses of the present.

"Emily Holt has found what poetry at its best can be: a way of speaking—which is also a way of surviving."

—Stan Sanvel Rubin

Buy my book, and help build another one.

Why help Pongo?:

• Study after study indicates that Pongo poetry writing provides therapeutic healing to youth in crisis
• Publishing the work of Pongo writers instills confidence in youth, demonstrating that their stories and creative accomplishments have value
•  Pongo's publishing also connects its youth authors with the wider community, raising awareness about their traumatic experiences, the conditions that give rise to it, and the resilience they demonstrate in response

Your contribution will pay for everything from a book designer, to printing costs, to promotional events to publicize the release. Furthermore, your support will pay for Pongo to donate free copies to the writers they serve, their families, and youth at peer organizations. Plus, if you contribute $100 or more to this campaign, you'll receive a complimentary copy of the book this June.

With your support, Pongo can make The Story of My Heart, a reality. Together, we can showcase the lives of youth whose pain is dismissed, whose creative talent is discounted, and whose stories are so often untold.

If you want to learn more about Pongo's work or how you can get involved, click here to visit their website or email developmentmanager@pongoteenwriting.org.