(Poetic) Representation, (Professional) Texts and “Young People at Risk”

This paper reflects on the involvement and (written) representation of young people with social and psychological problems in research. I elaborate on how poetic representations can be constructed and employed as a vehicle for certain kinds of participation, representation and dialogue of situated participants. The paper comments on the potentials of poetic representations as an example of writing that brings young people’s voices to the foreground, includes aspects which academic writing tends to marginalize, and at the same time raises questions as to the ways we as researchers (or other professionals) contribute to the reproduction or change of particular interpretations, ways of thinking and power relations when researching and representing “young people at risk”.