A Woman in Literature

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.