Free Choice Poetry

Declaration Of Interdependence: Poems for an Election Year

By: Janet Wong

Wong, Janet. 2012. Declaration of Interdependence: Poems for an Election Year. Princeton, NJ: PoetrySuitcase.com.

ISBN: 9781937057206 

Declaration of Interdependence is a collection of poetry compiled into an electronic format.  The poems focus around the topic of an election year.  There are 20 poems in the collection.  Some of the poems rhyme.  "Occupy the TV" is an example of a poem that has rhyming words.  It is a funny poem about watching political debates on the television.  Some of the poems are more along the lines of a narrative.  "We the People" tells a story about a fifteen year old and her eagerness to vote.

Wong does a great job of taking topics such as politics and writes in a way kids can understand.  All the poems appeal to young people.  Many of the poems are funny and witty and put a different spin on a stereotypical election.  Wong turns a topic that might be considered boring to some, especially kids, and makes it into an interesting topic.  Freedom of speech and the Bill of Rights is also addressed throughout her poems.   "F Words" is another poem that has an element of humor.  It is about a child listening in on an adults conversation about foreign policy, feminism, facts, fossil fuels, and other words that start with f.

I enjoyed reading through Wong's collection of poems.  Since this is an election year this book is a great resource and learning tool to use with students.  Declaration of Interdependence is a wonderful book with a sense of humor to use to expose and teach students about politics and the election year.

Once Upon A Time

Listen to old people

and it seems like

Once upon a time

the world was so different.

I wish

I could click the remote

And poof!

Instead of the boring nonsense

There would only be

Once Upon a time:

Snow White for President!

Activity:  This is a great poem to read to students during times of televised political debates.  There could be a class discussion about the debates and the teacher can ask the students if they have seen them on T.V.  After discussing the debates the teacher reads the poem.  The teacher points out the humorous fact that the author would like Snow White to be president.  After discussion students can brainstorm who they would like to be president, and either write a story or a poem about their candidate.