Writing the World 4 x 4

Welcome to the November Open Write. If you have written with us before, welcome back. If you are joining us for the first time, you are in the kind, capable hands of today’s host, so just read prompt below and then, when you are ready, write in the comment section below. We do ask that if you write that, in the spirit of reciprocity, you respond to three or more writers. Check out our “store” to receive your complimentary copy of Ethical ELA books!  https://www.ethicalela.com/store/

Our Host, Stacey Joy

Stacey L. Joy is a National Board Certified Teacher with 39 years of teaching in the elementary classroom. Stacey’s core teaching beliefs center her scholars’ history, self-advocacy, justice, and joy. Stacey is a poetry lover, a creator who goes down rabbit holes on Canva, and a fan of coffee, water, and red wine. Stacey is proud to have poems published in Ethical ELA’s recent teacher resource books: Just YA, 90 Ways of Community, and Words That Mend.

Follow Stacey on X @joyteamstars or on IG @joyteam. 

Inspiration 

In chapter six of 90 Ways of Community, Sarah, Mo, and Maureen teach us how to write about the world. There, Denise Krebs shared the “4 x 4” poetry form. I looked back at my poem in response to Denise’s April 2022 #Verselove prompt, and I felt proud because I wrote about teaching the truth. In this time of book bans, educators know we must find ways to teach the truth and write about the world we currently face. Today’s prompt was written 9 days before the historic Presidential Election of 2024. I took a chance and wrote this prompt and my new poem on faith that love and hope will prevail and right will trump wrong.

Process

Think about our nation, our possibilities, our writing community, our classrooms, or anything that is on your heart. Let’s use Denise Krebs’ 4 x 4 poetry form to write. 

A 4 x 4 poem structure follows these four rules:

• 4 syllables in each line
• 4 lines in each stanza
• 4 stanzas
• Refrain repeated four times in lines 1, 2, 3, 4 of stanzas 1, 2, 3, 4. 

Of course, you are free to write with or without form. 

Stacey’s Poem

Women’s Rights Wins

We have control
The rights to choose
No man can say
Keep the baby

Women’s health first
We have control
Harris has won
Nothing to fear

IVF rights
Abortion rights
We have control
Trump can’t hurt us

Reproduction
A woman’s right
To birth or not
We have control

©Stacey L. Joy, 10/27/24

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. Also, please be sure to respond to at least three writers. 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. For suggestions on how to comment with care.