Who Is Gwendolyn Brooks?

Gwendolyn Brooks is one of the most important poets of twentieth century America. She was a fiercely independent writer who borrowed from both European and African American literary traditions to write poetry that would cut her own path and inspire writers. Her poetry, novel, autobiographies, and short prose works are characterized by an intense awareness of the African American experience, women’s roles and feminist perspectives, and literary tradition. Brooks responded to major events during her lifetime, including World War II, the struggle for civil rights, the murders of African American leaders, race riots, and daily life in segregated urban America. Brooks’ poetry received numerous prestigious awards and, less formally, has been celebrated
Shortly after her birth, her family moved her to the South side of Chicago, where she remained all her life. She grew up in a poor, yet stable and loving family. Her parents often read to her and her younger brother Raymond and encouraged them to do well in school, but Gwendolyn was a shy girl. According to George Kent, she was "spurned by members of her own race because she lacked social or athletic abilities, a light skin, and good grade hair." Brooks was deeply hurt by this rejection, and at the young age of 7, she began to spend most of her childhood writing, filling composition books with ''careful rhymes'' and ''lofty meditations.'' Her mother was an enthusiastic supporter, often telling her, ''You are going to be the lady Paul Laurence Dunbar.'' At the age of 13, Ms. Brooks published her first poem, ''Eventide,'' in American Childhood magazine. Prompted by her mother, Brooks sent her
Brooks attended the leading white high school in Illinois, but transferred to an all-black school, then to an integrated school known as Englewood High School. Two years later she received an Associate’s Degree from Wilson Junior College (now known as Kennedy-King College). These four academies gave her a perspective on racial dynamics in the city, which was to influence the rest of her writing life. After graduating from Wilson Junior College in 1936, Brooks worked as director of publicity for a youth organization of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, also known as the NAACP. She participated in poetry readings and workshops at Chicago's South Side Community Art Center, producing verse that would later appear in her first published volume. She met Henry Blakely, a fellow writer and businessman, at an NAACP poetry group. They were married in 1939 when Brooks was 22 years