It's both a way for them to heal personally and sort of get their emotions out and deal with them, but also to share with each other.

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It's a different scene now than when we started, because the kids have each other as role models. But it's more than just writing, it's an entire generation of youth culture looking to express itself, and the writing has attracted them from all walks of life. No matter their grades or the neighborhoods they come from, they can all use words.

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The performance is part of a larger picture. Getting up and performing poetry in front of big crowds is another way for these kids to view their lives from a different perspective, and we want the kids in our program 20 years from now to be reading the books some of these kids have written.

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