Gwendolyn Brooks, born June 7th, 1917, was a Pulitzer prize winning author from Chicago. Publishing her first poem “Eventide” in the children’s magazine “American Childhood” at the age of 13, Brooks had a knack for creative writing, and had published around 75 poems by the time she was 16. By 17-years-old Brooks was a frequent contributor to the Chicago Defender, a newspaper with mostly Black readership.
When asked what influenced her writing, Brooks once said“Living in the city, I wrote differently than I would have if I had been raised in Topeka, Kansas ... I am an organic Chicagoan. Living there has given me a multiplicity of characters to aspire for. I hope to live there the rest of my days. That's my headquarters.”
Gwendolyn attended three different high schools during her youth. First she was enrolled in Hyde Park High School, an integrated high school that was considered modern in the 1930’s. Later she went to Wendell Phillips Academy High School, an all-black school. She finished her education at the integrated Englewood High School. It’s been widely documented that Brooks suffered intense racism and prejudice as a young Black woman in her integrated high schools. It’s thought that these racist experiences lead to her understanding of social dynamics in the U.S.A, a topic widely explored by her work.
In 1936, Gwendolyn Brooks graduated from Wilson Junior College, already a well published author. Her body of work included ballads, sonnets and free verse poetry. She wrote mostly about the lives of people in inner-city Chicago, drawing musical rhythms from the city’s rich culture history.
Brooks was once quoted as saying, "I felt that I had to write. Even if I had never been published, I knew that I would go on writing, enjoying it and experiencing the challenge."
While she honed her skills as a poet, Brooks worked as a secretary to pay her bills. She frequently attended poetry workshops, including one ran by Inez Cunningham Stark, a well-to-do woman with a literary education. In 1943, Brook’s work received an award from the Midwestern Writers' Conference.
Brooks first book of poetry, "A Street in Bronzeville", was published in 1945. The book was a major success, leading to Brooks receiving the Guggenheim Fellowship, among other honours. Her second book, "Annie Allen", was published in 1949. Brooks went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in poetry for "Annie Allen". This made her the first Black person to win the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.
In the 1960s, Brooks began her teaching creative writing. Over her life she taught at Columbia College in Chicago, Chicago State University, Northeastern Illinois University, Columbia University and the University of Wisconsin. During this time Brooks actively continued to write and publish her work.
In 1960 she published her third book of poetry, The Bean Eaters, which included her beloved "We Real Cool," a poem that delves into the topics of youth, rebellion and morality. In an interview, Brooks said she found her inspiration to write "We Real Cool" when she came across a pool hall of boys in her neighbourhood and wondered to herself how they felt about themselves. She also went on to publish her long poem "In the Mecca" in 1968, which was nominated for a National Book Award in poetry. Also in 1968, Brooks was appointed Poet Laureate of the state of Illinois, a position she held until she died in 2000. She was the first ever Black woman to hold this position.
Brooks wrote and published 17 books of poetry in her life-time. She passed away at the age of 83 from cancer, in her hometown of Chicago. Brooks legacy lives on, with schools and monuments across the United States dedicated to her, including Gwendolyn Brooks Elementary School in Aurora, Illinois.
Written by: Devon Clare Banfield
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