At 13, Rashanna James-Frison turned to poetry to cope with the loss of her parents and the problems she saw in her hometown of Newark and the world beyond.

Like keeping a journal, painting or other fine arts, writing poetry is an instinctive response that experts say children and teens use to channel grief, longing or confusing emotions safely and often effectively after losing a loved one.

“My first poem was actually to my biological father, that passed,” said Rashanna, now 18. “It was just to remember him in a way, and also put how I was feeling about the situation on paper. Because when I initially found out about the information, I didn’t really say much. I just wrote it down.”

“Since then, I’ve kind of used poetry as a way to express how I feel — and it doesn’t necessarily have t

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