Upstream Gold

<p><strong style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>Upstream Gold the debut chapbook of youth poet Cyle Salmon</strong><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)> follows a determined voice that keeps swimming upstream toward growth character and hope. Cyle writes about standing apart from the crowd pushing through fear and facing grief and change with courage. His poems use bold images and stories a salmon against the current a bear that represents anxiety a storm that tests the heart a race that demands everything to show what resilience looks like in real life. He wrestles with perfection pressure and loss then returns to gratitude mentorship and love as anchors that keep him steady. Clear energetic and honest </span><em style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>Upstream Gold</em><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)> invites readers to choose the harder path that makes them stronger to find their north star and to turn setbacks into fuel for the journey.</span></p><p></p><p><strong style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>Developed through Youth Writers' Camp (Summer 2025)</strong><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)> this initiative gives young people the tools to share their voices and experiences through creative writing. The program emphasizes social-emotional learning self-expression and community building making it valuable for both youth and adults. Suitable for middle-grade readers and up Youth Writers' Camp projects connect naturally to classroom and youth-program discussions about creativity resilience and the power of storytelling.</span></p><p></p>