Poetic Justice: Engaging in Participatory Narrative Analysis to Find Solace in the “Killer Corridor”

The author engaged with adolescents at a community-based youth organization as “co-researchers” to delve deeper into the lived experiences of youth of color residing in an urban neighborhood undergoing change. Participatory narrative analysis was used to empower participants to produce texts to make sense of their lives and their home, school, and neighborhood contexts. The process of engaging youth as co-researchers and experts in issues pertaining to their own neighborhood is discussed. Nuanced analyses of poems-as-data is shown to be critical in informing the recent surge of interdisciplinary, community-engaged, place-based initiatives focused on neighborhood revitalization, violence prevention, and positive youth development.