March 2026 is Women’s History Month. When women choose to get involved in the process of community building, they typically join forces with men and collaborate in various ways. They organize events, educate people, start community projects, or just change the room’s atmosphere with their kindness and wisdom.
This month at Open Write, we will honor community building women–in our family, in our literature, and in the news, by crafting poems to express our thoughts and creativity about our chosen woman. Today, we will focus on women in literature.
Our Host
Anna J. Small Roseboro, a wife and mother, is a distinguished educator, mentor, and author with a career spanning more than five decades. She holds a Master of Arts in Curriculum Design, and a Bachelor’s in Speech Communications. As a National Board-Certified Teacher and National Writing Project Fellow, Anna has helped shape the lives of students and educators alike through her roles in schools, universities, and professional organizations in the five states where she has lived and worked. Anna has written extensively to support teachers and students. Her publications include our Ethical ELA team publication Assessing Students with Poetry Writing Across Content Areas (2026); Empowering Learners: Teaching Different Genres and Texts to Diverse Student Bodies (2023); and Planning and Purpose: A Handbook for New College Classroom Teachers (2021).
Inspiration
Most participants in OPEN WRITE are active readers and teachers sorry about works of fine writing that are being banned. Today, I invite you to write an elegy honoring a woman in a literary work that has been banned. Why is it “sad” that current students may not have the opportunity to get to know the fictional character?
An elegy, you recall, is a poem of serious reflection, often a lament for the dead, or a broader reflection on human mortality and loss. This poetic genre traditionally mirrors the stages of mourning: grief, memories of the deceased, and consolation.
How would you inform students who do not have the opportunity to read this literary work as part of their regular coursework? What would you recommend the students do?
Process
Today, write an elegy of that fictional person, honoring the author for having “created” this admirable woman whose story should be read more widely by the students you commonly teach. If you’re no longer a classroom teacher, consider the students who are now the age of those you taught the text to most recently.
Elegies usually contain three parts: (1) sense of loss, (2) praise for the person, and (3) solace for the reader or listener.
If you can, include a copy of the book cover in your post.
Anna’s Poem for Angela
They dissed dear Maya and banned her books.
Was it her skills as a writer or her African American looks?
The Swedish saw her value and honored her with a prize.
Are her books banned in the US because she opens our eyes?
We need to know why the caged bird sings
Why the sad child and why the skank mother?
We need to understand ourselves and the other
Read well-written books that with truth loudly rings
Let the caged birds out of the cages
Let the books be for readers of all ages
Let’s face the truths about ourselves
Let’s bring back the books to all school shelves.
Your Turn
Now, scroll to the comment section below to write your own poem. (This is a public space, so you may choose to use only your first name or initials depending on your privacy preferences.) Not ready? That’s okay. Read the poems already posted for more inspiration. Ponder your own throughout the day. Return later. And, if the prompt does not work for you, that is fine. All writing is welcome. Just write something. Oh, and a note about drafting: Since we are writing in short bursts, we all understand (and even welcome) the typos and partial poems that remind us we are human and that writing is always becoming. If you’d like to invite other teachers to write with us, tell them to subscribe. Also, please be sure to respond to at least three writers.
Scout Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird
Summer heat
Skinned knees
Overalls
Lost in time
Pages turned
Essential
Seeing whole
To be taught
Discovery
“Pages turned / Essential”! Yes! Thank you for writing and sharing this, K.
Anna,
Your topic sure brings about engagement! I love how you tie in a few difference pertinent happenings/topics into a great prompt.
Your poem sheds light onto Maya’s life.
I struggled to create anything worthwhile. Busy day and rabbit holing interferred with creative juices.
JP the Queen
Jodi
tackles the tough stuff
doing deeeep dives into
whatever unique topic
is the focus of her novel.
medical ethics
social justice
forgiveness
autism
school shootings
abortion
organ donation
euthanasia
gender identity
women’s roles
white supremacy
grief and memory
domestic abuse
gay rights.
The themes build bridges
to allow others
to enter unfamiliar worlds
and grow empathy.
We readers are able
to become . . .
a young pregnant Amish girl,
the sister of a girl dying of leukemia,
a man in prison wanting to donate his heart to his victim’s sister,
a woman writer in Shakespearean England,
a black labor and delivery nurse who is forbidden from being in the room,
a hostage negotiator at an abortion clinic,
a bakery owner who unknowingly befriends a Nazi office in hiding,
a death doula who lives parallel lives,
and many other people with unique lives, thoughts, dreams, actions.
Yet,
book bans work to stop people
from having those vicarious experiences
that make them better,
more loving and accepting, people.
Withholding a book from readers
censors the content that can make
people feel seen or
broaden their perspective.
Jodi,
you tackle the tough stuff,
and you fiercely fight
book bans.
Keep doing you.
~Susan Ahlbrand
22 March 2026
Susan, thanks for these truths (and for the “list” of Jodi’s books — I’ll need to look into the ones that weren’t familiar to me). “Withholding a book from readers / censors the content that can make / people feel seen or / broaden their perspective.” THIS!
Anna,
Thank you for this amazing prompt and for your beautiful exemplar poem. I ventured a bit out of literature and into music for my poem–I couldn’t stop thinking about Billie Holiday and how she refused to stop singing Strange Fruit despite the consequences.
For Lady Day
What must the crowd have thought
when the waitstaff disappeared into the kitchen,
the clatter of plates cleared and cocktail tumblers collected
gave way to silence, lights dimmed to darkness
wave a center stage spotlight.
A spartan arrangement and a disquieting melody emerged–
Southern trees beat a strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root–
a song refusing to be silenced,
the record labels could refuse release,
the radio men could block the airwaves,
the law could trap and corner her,
snatch away her license to perform,
make her sick and shackle her to a hospital bed…
But the truth will out, and every night as the room darkened
she stepped into that spotlight and conjured a breeze
to spread seeds that still blossom
beyond her brilliant, truncated life–
We see you in the sunrise, Lady Day,
unstoppable and timeless,
your song beautiful and terrible and true,
imploring us to a reckoning
calling us to forge brighter tomorrows.
Dave,
I learned a lot from your poem and plan to dig even deeper. Thanks for taking a different slant and creating a beautiful poem.
According to PEN America,
Stephen King is “the most
banned author in U.S. schools,”
which means school kids
across the nation are missing
out on the trials and tribulations
of Beverly Marsh and Carrie White
and Trisha McFarland and Holly
Gibney and Izzy Jaynes and
Susannah Dean and so many
many others, and this is such a
disservice; King and his queens
have ushered so many older
students into the wide and
wonderful world of reading.
________________________________________
Thank you, Anna, for another wonderful mentor poem and prompt!
Scott,
It’s hard to believe that King is the most banned author. I remember checking in every month at Barnes and Nobles for the next section of The Green Mile to come out when it was first released in serialization!
Toni challenges me.
The words, poetic, the words, hard to hear, speak, understand
I feel lost inside, among, sometimes dirty, disturbing
along Pecola and her tragedy, her longing, her skewed focus
then Sethe, strong, as hard as any choke-cherry tree. But who could blame her?
could have mothered Milkman. Could have given him words of wisdom.
She probably wouldn’t have though. Better the young man learn himself from his own mistakes.
Would have taken him a little longer than Sula and Nell, they were both stubborn, but again who could blame them, Stubborn as strength, stubborn as stars, celestial, glowing from the moon.
Twyla and Robert maybe made the most sense. seeing as we see now, today, the past repeating. The past haunting. The present torturing.
No, Violet, I think. Dorcas had it coming. Maybe not, But Joe certaintly did. Violet’s rage does reflect the breaking. All of the unfair on one woman. She doesn’t derserve the words others give to her. She should have been justified in her rage. But that doesn’t seem to sit well either. I’m off balance. I’m unsure. Am I even allowed to get it? Maybe I am not who this is meant to speak to. But maybe it is meant to speak to everyone.
Toni challenges me.
Thank you Toni.
Luke,
Beautiful job showing what it means to grapple with the amazing Morrison who does not reduce the world for us, but shoes us all of its confounding complexities.
You make me want to reread all of her books.
Thanks Luke,for reminding us when learn while scrambling!
Anna,
Thanks for keeping the focus on women again today. I love both Maya’s poetry and prose. I remember when I was a beginning teacher, reading about a neighboring district banning I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and thinking I could never teach there. I think I was teaching the book to some of my eighth graders that year.
Hear! Hear!
————————————————————————
The Librarians
Women
In Texas
In Florida
In the Northeast
Greeting students by name
Honoring their pronouns and nicknames
Finding books for their kiddos
Knowing who’s waiting for Katniss
Who’s ready for Pecola, Maya, and Janie
Giving them space to eat lunch and study
A place to just be
Extending a sense of belonging to all
Following the ever-changing policies
Respecting family’s wishes
Villified by their communities
Physically threatened
Silenced and fired by their districts
Filmed in silhouette like criminals
_________________________________________________
I wrote a different poem about Kim Snyder’s The Librarians during an earlier open write after I saw it in the theater. It’s now playing on PBS and I encourage you to watch it. It’s heartbreaking, but important to know how our public school librarians are being treated for doing their job and taking care of their students. https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/documentaries/the-librarians/
Hi, Sharon! Thank you for bringing our attention to the librarians, those fearless and tireless students’ advocates. Additional thank you for the link to PBS documentary. You final line hits hard: “Filmed in silhouette like criminals” as if being threatened, silenced, and fired is not enough.
So true about the librarians. They lead a way to many to discover the truth in books and to discover the courage women in literature. Thanks for this tribute to them.
Sharon,
The documentary is on my “watch list”! Your poem does such a great job of cataloguing what our librarians and media specialists do for us, especially in this environment. The lines that really got me were: “Knowing who’s waiting for Katniss/
Who’s ready for Pecola, Maya, and Janie”
Hermione Granger (from Harry Potter)
Alas, readers of America
we will miss the wisdom of Hermione!
Her vital creativity, intelligence and skill
useful in complicated times.
Precision and loyalty
directed strategic moves of imagination.
The magic contained no darkness.
Follow her with courage and bravery.
Oh Susan! I remember so well the summers these books came out. The publisher timed the releases to “match” summer vacations and my students sometimes skipped summer session classes to be in line to get the books!!
I wonder how many grasped the value of those characters! Thanks for the reminder.
Such a good mentor for young boys and girls.
I’m sure many young people will heed your wise call:
Susan, While I was not personally a huge fan (as I confessed today) I totally agree that the wisdom of Hermone “directed strategic moves of imagination” and lit fires in the minds and hearts of readers. The magic really transformed the popular literature front and brought many adults back to books as well.
I love it. Hand in the air with answers…Hermione made smart fashionable and fun in a way that made me feel seen.
Elegy for Angela
(after Angela’s Ashes)
The fire was so wild today,
as though warmth were something that might
return if I waited long enough.
The walls sweat what we wouldn’t say: hunger
becomes a language, a rhythm, a dull naming
absence where three thinned to ash. At doors, pride
folds away, hidden where it can’t be taken
from days of not enough. I sit
by the fire, watching my remains in flames
flickering when I once laughed, before hunger
became the language for what remains.
Thanks for the reminder of this powerful story. I wish we could compile and post all these elegies on a site where book banners could and would read them. They may change their minds about enticing the students to read on their own to find out what these banners don’t want them to know. They know if they were “assigned,” many would not read. They’d just wait till they got to class to find out what the teacher wanted them to write on the exams!
I’m kidding…but not really,
Thanks for nurturing a space for each of us to remind each other of the wealth of resources out there for us to recommend if we can actually “teach” them in class. Most of the writers can speak for themselves!
Wow Sarah ~ this is beautiful ~ I read Angela’s Ashes a long time ago but your poem brought it all back..where three thinned to ash ~ what a beautiful line. I love how your words turn themselves inside out—how hunger becomes something that is there and not the absence of what was not. I don’t think I’m expressing myself well…but the lines …before hunger/ became the language for what remains is so masterful and one which I want to remember and reflect upon.
Sarah, it was long ago when last I read Angela’s Ashes and today you made me revisit the characters and remember. Powerful book.
Sarah,
Both your beginning and ending lines are so powerful and evocative:
The book banners are so threatened by strong women.
Whew Sarah! I feel the heat when I read this poem and the hunger hidden behind doors as people and language turn to ashes.
Sarah,
Even though this book bored deep into my soul not long ago, your words are so dang unique and powerful that I want to dive right back into it. You pulled such enthralling details and took a creative slant with them.
Bravo!
The Women in My Life
By Mo Daley 3/22/26
Pecola and Toni
Margaret and Judy
June and Margaret
Betty
Celie and Alice
Edna and Kate
Malala
Scout and Harper
Meg and Madeleine
Harriet and Louise
Maya
Satrapi and Marjane
Esperanza and Sandra
Janie and Zora
Katniss and Suzanne
Charlotte and Jayne
Sethe and Toni
Henrietta and Rebecca
Anne
Voices
Who
Can’t
Be
Silenced
Oh, look what you did. I love that you have cataloged so many names of women, “voices who can’t be silenced” So great. I’m surprised really of how many I know, but I’ve made a note to figure out the ones I’m not familiar with and those I need to renew my acquaintance with. I love your title, which makes it warm and intimate. Thank you, Mo!
Oh, Mo, so many familiar names. I like how you lifted them all up emphasizing their strong voices.
There is a lot we can learn from each of them.
Clever way to get them all in and not look like you’re just writing a list! Poetry opens the doors for such creative conveyance! Thanks, Mo!
That’s the beauty of the friends we meet in books ~ they call to us again and again, Thanks for the reminder of some of my favorites!
Mo, Your poem shows the diversity and depth of book banning that may not be a new idea, but has clearly picked up steam. I found myself rereading it a couple of times trying to match characters and books. Fun poem
I’ve learned so much from these characters and authors. Thank you for honoring them. I like the pairing of characters and authors, with some standing alone. Fantastic list.
I love the listing of these familiar names and authors, Mo. Such a great list!
Anna, your poem brought me to the strongest of memories and the day I read about that Caged Bird on the beach and night fell before I moved. You topic is both timely and powerful. It’s funny that I am choosing to write about J.K. Rowlings as she is still alive and I was not really a huge fan of her books in the beginning; however, I am a fan of how she turned on millions of readers and writers to the magic of stories. I owe her this public apology.
Joanne, it’s strange that I would choose to honor your today
I had to plow through and was critical of what was not there
I had to make myself figure out what all the buzz was about
I had to find some of your magic that made them excited.
You, Joanne, have done more for more readers than I
Could ever do in this lifetime even the with best idea, I
Could not turn on the millions your words spurred who
Could devour your stories and your magical characters.
Joanne, you may have triggered a few of the naysayers
They didn’t see that you knew what readers need
They didn’t see the excitement the discussion the wonder
They still look at what isn’t rather than what makes readers.
You, Joanne, found the magic touch and deserve
Praise for staying with it in spite of great hardship
Praise for holding tight to your ideas that challenge others
Praise for helping generations of readers find the wonder.
J.K. Please accept this gift of gratitude as well as a reminder to respect the very diverse tastes of readers that mirror the amazing diversity of people.
Anita, I too never got into J.K. Rowling’s books, but I remember the magic when my students and children devoured her books, and the religious conservatives who did not allow their children or students to read them. I know nowadays there are people boycotting her books for her take on trans women. Is there a difference between boycotting and banning? Do progressive people against her outspokenness want to ban her books? Or just boycott them for themselves?
Anita, your generous praise recognizes one of the most impactful Rowling’s achievements that helped “generations of readers find the wonder.” I was never her fan, but my students read her novels voraciously, asking me to give her a chance. I read the first two books in Harry Potter series, and that was more than enough for me. We, critical readers, are able to find bias language in any book, and to be honest, we, too, are inherently biased and try to “unlearn” faulty habits. I appreciate your poem today!
Anna, thank you so much for this challenging prompt. This line in your poem: “Are her books banned in the US because she opens our eyes?” Wow. Yes, I’m sure that is it, and so timely for today’s environment. Let’s remove anything that opens our eyes, so we can maintain our delusions, we seem to say.
I love what you said as you asked us about why it was sad that current students are missing out on the characters in banned books. I read your prompt, and then got lost a bit in research. After I found this quote by Sandra Cisneros, I forgot all about writing an elegy and instead tried a Golden Shovel.
“The world is a house on fire, and we know that address, and people we love are in that house.” ~Sandra Cisneros
The House on Mango Street introduced the
world to Esperanza Cordero, who
is a 12-year-old Mexican-American chica,
a girl of hope, waiting for the promised real
house with a big yard and many árboles.
On gender, idioma, adolescence, the
fire of domestic and sexual abuse, identity
and belonging we get to know Esperanza’s world.
We learn through the eyes of Cisneros and
know the pain of the trauma
that causes harm to her people. In
address of her impoverished
and Hispanic neighborhood, the story gives
people raw and unyielding truth.
We made it a bestseller in 1984, fell in
love with Esperanza, Nenny and Kiki, who
are (or should be) instrumental in teaching gringos
in America that they can dismantle old creencias,
that they can learn from other cultures, like in The
House on Mango Street, sin prohibirlos.
Denise, my 10 year old granddaughter read The House on Mango Street last fall and we had long and deep conversations about immigrants, poverty, trauma and worlds so very different than her own suburban one. The eye-opening story for so many “gringos” opened her to questions that she did not even think about before and challenging conversations that need to happen grounded in characters in a story. Your post is a reminder to all that we should not stop your readers from exploring new worlds even if they spark challenging conversations. Thank you for this one
Oh, Denise, she is such a favorite of mine! I love the golden shovel and the way you wove it with your striking line quote. Did you know Katie Couric started a book club and that this will be her April pick?
What a wonderful choice you’ve made for a subject for your golden shovel. I love your use of translanguaging to make your point. Creencias, indeed!
Denise, I love when you use translanguaging to enrich the poems. It is especially fitting when exploring Sandra Cisneros work. The quote you chose to uplift is gorgeous and speaks truth about our world. Wow, The House on Mango Street was a bestseller in 1984, the year I graduated high school and didn’t know much about the world. Thank you!
Denise, aren’t you glad our host(ess), Sarah, has left the door open for us to write whatever’s on our minds whenever the “OPEN WRITE” doors open? Thanks for sharing your thoughts today about another powerful writer
Denise,
I love the line that you chose for your golden shovel and the book has always been a favorite to teach. It’s such a rich tapestry and so much to learn from Esperanza’s experiences. I couldn’t agree more that it needs to be read!
Thank you for another wonderful prompt, Anna! I am so lucky to be able to teach Maya Angelo’s work occasionally in my literary analysis course. You made me think strenuously this morning, and I wanted to challenge myself with a sonnet, so it took awhile, and I can still play with wording a bit more, but this draft will work for today.
I chose Kate Chopin’s “Awakening,” and my poem features the voice of the main heroine, Edna Pontellier.
The Sonnet of the Solitary Soul
My cozy cage was warm and softly made,
Where olden days were numbered, one by one.
I walked within my husband’s ample shade,
A muffled song that never sought the sun.
But then the sea spoke low, stroking my hand,
The waves broke through the ceiling of the room.
The land I knew erased by quicken sand
And felt the painful tightening of the loom.
The wing once spread can never fold again;
I would not sell myself for love or child.
I have unlearned the comfort of the pen,
To seek the wide, the dangerous, the wild.
The shore is gone, the tide cannot remain;
I march to freedom, with my strength regained.
Leilya, your sonnet is absolutely lovely. I’m in awe of the depth and creativity expressed here. The muffled song that never sought the sun perfectly captures the place of women in this time. Gorgeous!
Leilya, I read your tender poem several times thinking I feel like I know this character and this story but I could not begin to jog it from my memory. Then I turned to AI for help and remember the story from a Women’s History class long, long ago. It takes a good poet (you) to jog a very old memory yet the line that hung in my head, “a wing once spread can never fold again,” sparked strongly. Well done.
Gorgeous, Leilya. You have done Kate Chopin proud with this one. You’ve really captured Edna’s essence.
You totally nail Edna’s voice—the sea imagery and that turn feel electric. It’s bold, intimate, and that sense of no-going-back really lands.
These are beautiful words, Leilya. I could feel the waves and sea in the second stanza and suddenly felt the erasure. I would like to look at this book and author as I am curious about the “comfort of the pen and the tightening of the loom.”
Wow, Leilya, a sonnet is the perfect form for “The Awakening.” Such rich language. “I march to freedom.” I’ve just checked out Chopin’s short stories on Libby to read and remember.
As skilled sonneteers, you and others slam a homerun with your closing couplet! Thanks!
The shore is gone, the tide cannot remain;
I march to freedom, with my strength regained.
Leila, From I walked within my husband’s ample shade until the shore is gone, the tide cannot remain… you have captured not only a character but a time and place. Just lovely!
Wow! Impressive to challenge yourself with a sonnet, Leilya! Beautifully done, too. This stanza returned me to the sense of disquiet I felt reading Chopin’s Awakening decades ago. Thank you!
Leilya, I love the way you express the awakening of freedom here! I love the line, “I have unlearned the comfort of the pen, / To seek the wide, the dangerous, the wild.” I feel like as women and writers, we often feel boxed in and this piece expresses that we have the ability to go further than that!
My poem is about Ama Ata Aidoo, an author whose books about culture and relationships can sometimes be highly controversial. This book in particular has a protagonist who chooses her own path, rather than those ascribed to women in her cultural setting.The author shares many gender and relationship issues, leading to power struggles. Her book Changes;A love story, has been banned in a few places.
Why would they
Not release this book
To fly through the sky
To reach new heights
And raise the awareness of
The youth we teach
Why would they
Not hear the voice of Ama
Whose creativity shines
Through words unspoken
Or lives lived differently
She would want you to know
How certain lives are lived
So you can make your choice
Maybe better choices than them!
Juliette, thanks for mentioning this particular book and author. Perhaps your poem and other writings here today will help release the books in ways you show in your opening stanza, “to fly through the sky/to reach new heights”.
Juliette, thank you for mentioning this author who faces publishing challenges because of “lives lived differently!” We are such an amazingly diverse world blended into this magical fabric of humanity that it amazes me people/the world does not notice how diversity makes us stronger.
Juliette, I can only imagine how a progressive, forward-thinking, female Ghanaian writer must have felt as she tried to get her voice heard. Thanks for shedding light on Ama Ata Aidoo today. I read The Dilemma of a Ghost and Anowa several years ago, but will definitely add Changes to my TBR list.
I love the line “to fly through the sky / to reach new heights”—it carries that sense of possibility and resistance at the same time. And your focus on giving young people access to these voices feels especially powerful.
Juliette, I agree with you: why not let the books exposing us to different lived experiences be easily accessible to everyone. we talk a lot about teaching students (or children in general) to think critically, but we forget that first and foremost they need a wide range of knowledge that they can then critically analyze, integrate, synthesize, or whatnot. Just let the kids read. Thank you for your poem today and for introducing Ama Ata Aidoo to me.
Juliette,
I love how well you express how hard it is to understand why some people don’t want to allow others, especially young people, to learn from the experiences of others.
You ask important questions, Juliette. Why would they not? We need to hear different voices. In an ideal world there would be parents to coach and explain books that present different lives and views. So sad that our choice now has been to hide these treasures.
Ohh, what a powerful poem for our beloved Maya Angelou. The final four lines pack a punch and a cry for justice!
My journal prompt today asked me to write an erasure poem. I decided to do that in tandem with paying honor to Pecola Breedlove from The Bluest Eye. I selected a passage for my erasure/elegy poem.
Breed Love
An elegy and erasure poem for Pecola Breedlove
Quiet as it’s kept,
Pecola proved
the gardens
were safe.
We knew
mutual accusations
occurred unyielding.
We dropped Pecola’s father
in black despair.
Now
Pecola is dead;
her baby too.
©Stacey L. Joy, 3/22/26
Thanks, Stacie. Isn’t it amazing how power stoies can remain, even if we “erase” some of the words! Thankfully, you did not erase, “Quiet as it’s kept’ to remind us to speak up, too.
stacey, I am in awe of those who can create erasure poems. These are challenging, and I see you have created yours with seamless meaning – and made it seem so simple. You are a master at that, and Toni Morrison’s character is a great choice.
Thank you, Stacey, for this poem. I taught this book and it was portrayed at UIC’s student theater, too. You brought back so many memories for me in the reading, teaching, and watching the dramatic version.
I just read your erasure visual poem for Pecola, and wow—it’s so haunting and moving. You’ve taken that passage and distilled it into something that lands hard, quietly, and beautifully.
I especially love how the line “Quiet as it’s kept, / Pecola proved / the gardens / were safe” carries so much weight—it’s tender, tragic, and powerful all at once. Your poem honors her story while giving it a new, intimate voice.
Hugs,
Sarah
Stacey, these lines are haunting me because they are so real:
“We knew
mutual accusations
occurred unyielding.”
The image of “black despair” is also makes my heart drop. Thank you!
Stacey,
Such a spare and heart-breaking distillation of Morrison’s novel. You’ve brought back all that I felt when reading Morrison’s amazing debut.
Your poem is so haunting.
Anna,
Thank you for this prompt. There are so many amazing females writers on the banned book list, it was hard to choose who to honor. I decided to go back to my childhood favorites: A Wrinkle in Time.
A unique adventure through space and time
love and connections prevailed
nonconformity hailed.
“People are more than just the way they look”
But some folks didn’t like this notion —
Budhha and Jesus depicted together
as forces of light
Only the Christian god could garner that spot!
Supernatural characters Mrs. Whatsit, Who and Which spiritual guides
“Believing takes practice”
But some folks believed these imaginary figures
were occult-like and witchy.
They said, A Wrinkle in Time – too complicated for a child’s mind!
They said, the females — they are too darn plucky!
I say, Silly words spewed from
simple closed minds!
Thank you, Madeleine, for your inspiration—
for giving me the story my younger self needed,
a reminder that “a book, too, can be a star.”
Tammi, I loved seeing the book and Madeleine through your eyes, both now and those of your younger self. Darn those plucky females! They get you in trouble every time – haha! Here’s to more outright pluckiness. Thank you for gifting us with this reminder today.
Tammi, that last line is just shimmering with truth. Most of our childhood books were indeed stars that led us to places of hope, adventure, fantasy, knowledge. I pray these books stay in the lives of future generations. I like your gratitude expressed at the end.
Love this, especially that line, “a book, too, can be a star.” What a message of gratitude that really lingers for me. Thank you!
I read this series over and over as a kid and learned so much from it. About science, yes, but even more about kindness and acceptance and fighting totalitarianism and uniformity.
Maya Angelou is one of my all time heroes. Lovely poem, Anna.
I wrote a book co-authored with Phebe Hayes about the first woman to get a medical degree in the state of Louisiana, Were You There? A biography of Emma Wakefield-Paillet. One of my favorite poems from the poems I wrote is one that praises her mother, Today I will Praise after Angelo Geter.
Today I will praise
after Angelo Geter
Today I will praise love–
how a mother loves
unconditionally.
I will praise her tireless heart
Praise the way it bore
the pain of loss,
husband, sons, daughters.
Praise her lift to the wings
I fly on–Praise her gentle catch
when I fall.
I will open my hands in adoration
of how her burdens so heavy
could seem so light.
I will praise migration that led
her north to me.
Praise the northwest
for acceptance and hope.
Praise the rising sun.
How she loved the scent of rain.
Praise the gift of my name.
How it passed from her lips like a hum.
I will praise her hands.
Praise the cradle of them
holding me, me holding her.
Praise the breath of life.
Praise the Crescent City
that wrapped her in humid heat
buried her in sainted stone.
(Margaret Simon)
A little anecdote: Yesterday at the Farmer’s Market a young man asked me to read my favorite poem from the book. I read this one aloud to him and he took a picture of it to send to his mom. Sweet!
Margaret — I love the way your poem weaves the story of Geter’s life through the praise.
Especially loved these lines: “Praise the rising sun./How she loved the scent of rain” and “How it passed from her lips like a hum”
Margaret, I’m certain the young man’s mom was as filled with love as I am right now from reading your poem. I feel the depth and breadth of a mother’s love.
It’s interesting that you’re writing about Geter today. That is the name of a dear neighbor I had when I lived in upstate New York! Today, I’m wearing an African kaftan, similar to the one she and I saw and bought when we finally accepted that we’re proud to be Black and will wear our heritage attire if we want to! She has “passed on”, but memories of our coming to accept and respect our heritage when others didn’t still work my heart. Your poem, today, resurrected that memory. Thanks.
Wow, this is just beautiful! I love how your praise flows—it’s tender, powerful, and full of life. That moment at the Farmer’s Market is so heartwarming—how perfect that a stranger felt compelled to share it with his mom. Your words really carry love across generations; reading it aloud must have been magic!
Maybe you’ll write a poem about that sweet interaction at the farmer’s market.
Margaret, I am unfamiliar with your work, but I love the way you encapsulate a mother’s love and how the praise flows throughout the piece!
Anna, this is a wonderful prompt and your poem gives us the only way out of this quagmire— let’s face the truth and bring back the books. I have a busy day ahead but want to post…my poem may not have the qualities of an ode, but it is my reaction to the prompt and my tribute to Alice Walker. I will have to return later and respond to other poems.
For Alice Walker
We have so little in common, if one
looks only at the surface,
but your words changed me whose eyes
were open, but not wide enough
to see the brutality and keep living,
loving, fighting..,
Come visit with me. Be surprised,
I too, keep broken things.
Ann — Alice Walker was a great choice. I thought about her as well as I remember reading the Color Purple and thinking about how small my world had been before reading her book.
Your poem really captures the power of a story to help us understand another’s perspective in these lines”
“but your words changed me whose eyes
were open, but not wide enough
to see the brutality and keep living,
loving, fighting..,”
Reading your poem reminds me of TED talk by Chimamada Ngozi Adichie: The Danger of a Single Story
Yes, this is beautiful and true. I agree with Tammi, it reminded me of The Danger of a Single Story. God bless Chimamanda Adichie as she recently lost one of her precious twin babies due to a doctor’s negligence.😞
Sorry, I digress.
I think this is a perfect closing to your poem.
That last line is a wonderful closing. What an incredible communication with A.W.
Ann, This is so moving! I love how intimate and honest it feels—your words hold both admiration and shared vulnerability beautifully. “keep broken things.” Wow.
Hugs,
Sarah
Ann,
I’m so moved by your last line:
Brilliant!
Anna, thank you for honoring women this month and for allowing us to give voice to so many whose voices are taken away. Sexual assault is one of the three main reasons women’s writing is banned. Ironic when we are in the midst of continual silencing of worldwide victims. Today, I followed Kim’s lead and wrote a cento with words from one of the most banned female writers, Margaret Atwood.
Erasure
We are the people
who were not in the papers.
You think you can get rid of things–
and people too
(long scrolls of ink
from the index finger of your right hand,
your left hand erasing)
All that remains… is a shadow.
There is a good deal of comfort, now,
in remembering this.
You don’t know about the habit they have,
of coming back.
Maybe none of this is about control.
It’s about who can do what to whom
and be forgiven for it.
(Cento gathered through Margaret Atwood”s The Handmaid’s Tale, The Blind Assassin)
Jennifer — The Handmaid’s Tale feels so prophetic! Your poem captures our current times so well. Those last lines– “It’s about who can do what to whom/and be forgiven for it” are so ominous.
Jennifer, excellent choice to honor Margaret Atwood. I held these lines and instantly believed that we will be fine because justice is coming back. I have to believe and I need this comfort.
Thank you, Jennifer.
Brilliant. Just brilliant. What perfect lines to remind us all that we are the people and not the papers. I love this cento. It flows perfectly natural.
The cento or patchwork poems some of you have chosen to write today emphasize the value of “borrowing” and using in a different way. The fact that you’ve chosen to honor these writers with their own words gives double value to your contribution to our conversations today. Thanks. (Feeling silly. It’s almost like borrowing the Bundt pan or “whoopie” pie pan from a neighbor, then taking them a piece of the pastry when we return the pan. “Whoopie, may be their response to their gift of generosity.)
Jennifer, I can’t think of many more powerful women in literature than Margaret Atwood for her prophetic slant from a time gone by. She and Ayn Rand – truly had the vision of the future. I like the way you have taken her lines and woven them into this golden strand of a poem, bead by bead…link by link….truth by truth. We needed these words today – more strongly than ever before.
Jennifer,
I love how haunting and precise this is! That line “Maybe none of this is about control. / It’s about who can do what to whom / and be forgiven for it” hits so hard—so sharp and unforgettable. Your erasure really lets the shadows speak for themselves.
peace,
Sarah
Yes, the books, even when banned, even when burned, return.
Anna, I am in admiration of your chosen theme – women – this month for our Open Write. I’m in a month of dedicated cento poem writing, so I’m going to honor Amanda Gorman and think of the ancestral women who guide us with a spiritual voice. I’m listing her poems where I found these lines beneath the poem. I also think the line “Pay Attention” nods to Mary Oliver as well. Strong women poets who urge us to pay attention.
We Rouse Ghosts
Even as we stand stone-still
we rouse ghosts ~
A grandma on a porch fingers her rosaries.
This truth, like the white-blown sky.
What endures isn’t always what escapes.
Pay attention.
Learn from them.
Taken from: The Shallows; Who We Gonna Call; The Miracle of Morning; & So; Cordage, or Atonement; Hephaestus; In the Deep
Kim, your poem so inspired me that I turned to the cento form myself today. I’m especially drawn to your lawn, “What endures isn’t always what escapes.” Freedom has many forms. And many ways of taking it away. I imagine those without it remaining “stone-still” and gathering the ghosts of those who have gone before us. Powerful stuff here.
Kim — I love this image of “A grandma on a porch fingers her rosaries.” It depicts melancholy but strength. There truly is so much to learn from the past.
endures…escapes. What a mystery and yet, not. We understand. Masterful. Beautiful.
The title alone is POWERFUL! Kim, I don’t write cento poetry much, but your poems have intrigued me. I’ll explore this form next month.
I am paying close attention and listening to the spiritual guides. Beautiful poem, my friend.
Oh, Kim. This is stunning! I love the line “What endures isn’t always what escapes”—so haunting and wise. Your poem makes the past feel alive.
Peace,
Sarah
Kim, I already mentioned how your first lines had drawn my attention. As I reread each line, I think about the image of a grandma on a porch, an epitomy of wisdom, belief, and strength. I, too, think you’ve got M. Oliver’s vibe here.
I am so impressed with how you take lines and fuse them together to create something new that sounds so cohesive. I envy how you are able to keep it short rather than blabber on and on like I tend to do.
sure resonates.
Ooooh, how true. how true. Maya gave us so many truths that many could not bear them. I love her work and how she gave so much love to our world through her words. Thank you for this poem about her.
‘Their Eyes Were Watching God,’ was a book that I was never exposed to as a young person. I could have learned so much from it at any age. But, I am glad that I had a chance to listen to it as an adult. I fell in love with Zora Neal Hurston’s storytelling and the historical details about her brought to light in recent years.
Dear Janie Crawford,
It was you who
allowed me to learn
about you
and the lives of girls
who weren’t me
but might have been
According to men who
made up rules;
facts and fictions
about who’s in kitchens
fields, and places
I might never
want to be from
or return to.
Your poem reminds me of the way we hold our perceptions of others and how these perceptions shape us in so many ways. I’m glad you met Zora!
Linda, “the lives of girls who weren’t me but might have been” – phew. I’ve often thought about how luck plays a role in what happens to us, as much as any choice made. These words are so, so good. And then you follow them with even more truth. I am blown away by this. Wow!
Linda,
I also read this book as an adult and agree that there is so much to learn from her words. I was happy to see that Hurston’s writing was on my daughter’s AP reading lists last year.
It is unfortunate that “According to men who/ made up rules;/ facts and fictions …” this is still relevant in the 21st century.
Standing and clapping!!!! Excellent choice and your poem makes me want to reread the book. Your word choices…just wow! Thank you, Linda.
I love this reflection—it’s so heartfelt! That line “allowed me to learn / about you / and the lives of girls / who weren’t me / but might have been” is beautiful and tender. Your poem really honors Zora Neale Hurston and Janie’s world.
Linda, it is so good to read about Hurston’s Janie in your poem. I have recently read my student’s analysis of this work, where she passionately analyzed the author’s craft in developing Janie’s character. Your words strongly resonate with me. Thank you!
There always more drama than necessary,
as if the kids won’t sneak it to read it,
to find out why adults have banned it
Raina, keep writing — your stories reach
the heart of so many readers, and in Drama,
the show goes on, in many different theaters
Write true, Raina, for through you, stories
unfold the many unexpected sides
of a world drawn in soft edges and bent lines
for Raina Telgemeier
https://bannedbooksweek.org/banned-spotlight-drama/
I love this so much. Thank you for writing it.
I’m nodding and applauding. This was one a nearby plastic wrapped bubble of a county pulled off the shelves at the book fair because parents complained. I’m glad you chose it for today.
Kevin, thank you for weaving the banning and its consequences into a poem focusing on a middle grade book by a well-loved writer, along with a title that so aptly works its way into today’s prompt. I haven’t yet read this one but will be searching it out now.
Raina’s books were adored by an autistic-gifted student I taught. She was in 6th grade. She wanted to take them all home. I ended up giving her Sisters when I retired.
Kevin — This is so true –“as if the kids won’t sneak it to read it,/to find out why adults have banned it”
Love these last lines: “for through you, stories/unfold the many unexpected sides/
of a world drawn in soft edges and bent lines”
Kevin,
Thank you for introducing me to this book. I love “soft edges and bent lines” and want to know more!
Kevin, your poem is not only encouraging Raina, but writers in general to be bold enough. to speak with their words. Thank you
That line “through you, stories unfold the many unexpected sides / of a world drawn in soft edges and bent lines” is just beautiful—so celebratory of Raina’s impact.
Kevin, nice job tackling a book that most would overlook because it is a graphic novel geared towards middle schoolers! Books like these can be such a looking glass for those that feel unseen!