FREE ESSAY ON GWENDOLYN BROOKS

GWENDOLYN BROOKS

Gwendolyn Brooks
On June 7, 1917, Keziah Corine Wims and David Anderson Brooks gave birth to one of the
most gifted African-American poets of the 20th century. They named her Gwendolyn Brooks.
Although she was born in Topeka, Kansas, Brooks grew up in Chicago where her mother
worked as a schoolteacher and her father worked as a janitor. He quit going to school for
financial reasons and while quitting went away his dream of becoming a doctor. David
Brooks was still a proud man. Being a janitor wasn't, and still isn't considered a highly
skilled job, but Brooks was still proud of her father's self-sacrifice. Brooks' wrote a
poem directly titled In Honor of David Anderson Brooks, My Father. In this poem she
writes of how much she misses him and the things he did for his family. Lines such as "A
dryness is upon the house/ My father loved and tended/ Beyond his firm and sculptured
door/ His light and lease have ended" show how much she cared for her father. 
Growing up in the south side of Chicago gave Brooks an insight to the social poverty that
existed in this world. The people around her may have been poor, but they still had pride
in their existence. The poem The Bean Eaters is a reflection of her surroundings. The
first two stanzas open the poem with: "They eat beans mostly, this old yellow pair/
Dinner is a casual affair/ Plain chipware on a plain and creaking wood/ Tin flatware/ Two
who are Mostly Good/ Two who have lived their day/ But keep putting on their clothes/ And
putting things away." Although they don't have much other than "tin flatware," the couple
still faces each day as if it is a brand new beginning.
As she was growing up, members of her own race spurned her because she lacked social and
athletic abilities, and to add to these factors, she was also light skinned. This
rejection effected her deeply and she retreated with poetry. In the poem, Still Do I Keep
My Look, My Identity..." Brooks writes lines such as, "Each body has an art, its precious
prescribed/ Pose, that even in passion's droll contortions, waltzes/ Or push of a pain-
or when grief has stabbed/ Or hatred hacked- is its, and nothing else's." These lines are
talking about how everybody has beauty within them, and it seems as if other people don't
see Gwendolyn's beauty. Also, these lines talk about how everyone is beautiful, and no
matter how beautiful the body is, it will still feel pain and hatred. 
Being an African-American in the 30's and 40's also didn't help Brooks' social and
economic situation. People of color during that time were often treated with ignorance
and bigotry. Gwendolyn's counterattack to these beliefs is shown in the poem Of De Witt
Williams on his way to Lincoln Cemetery. She writes, "He was born in Alabama/ He was bred
in Illinois/ He was nothing but a/ Plain black boy/ Swing low swing low sweet sweet
chariot/ Nothing but a plain black boy." Her poem is saying although this man has
traveled and has seen the country, he is still considered by many to be just a "plain
black boy." They don't know anything about him, nor do they care to know anything about
him, simply because he is a "plain black boy."
During the 40's to the 50's, women across America were torn between choosing a simple
domestic life or having a career. Brooks' take on this controversial topic is apparent in
the poem Sadie and Maud. With lines such as: "Maud went to college/ Sadie stayed at home/
Sadie scraped life/ With a fine-tooth comb/ ... Sadie bore two babies/ Under her maiden
name/ Maud and Ma and Papa/ Nearly died of shame/ ... Maud, who went to college/ Is a
thin brown mouse/ She is living all alone/ In this old house." Sadie is possibly
symbolizing Brooks, for Brooks did bear two children and after she had children, she
became a housewife and mother. Her take on the family vs. career choice is shown in this
poem. She appears to be saying: although you may be staying home, it doesn't mean you
won't have a fulfilling life. On the other hand, just because you have a career won't
necessarily make you a happy person.
Gwendolyn married in 1939 to Henry L. Blakeley. She had two children with him named Henry
Jr. and Nora. She became a housewife and a mother but instead of directing all her energy
toward domestic needs, she wrote her poetry while her children slept or while they were
in school.1939 was also the start of World War II. Brooks wrote a poem entitled Memorial
to Ed Bland and the poem begins with an opening that reads, "... killed in Germany March
20, 1945; volunteered for special dangerous mission... wanted to see action." The poem is
about a young man who wants to see the world, and believes that he is invincible, which
was probably the attitude that many young American males had pre-World War II. They
believed they were invincible, but that was not the reality for many young men.
The post World War II era was prosperous for many Americans, especially returning
soldiers. The attitude sweeping through America was one of "If you can survive the war,
you can survive anything." It was almost as if Americans felt immortal. Brooks' attacked
this notion with her poem We Real Cool. In this poem, she writes, "The Pool Players/
Seven at the Golden Shovel/ We real cool. We/ Left school. We/ Strike straight. We/ Sing
sin. We/ Thin gin. We/ Jazz June. We/ Die Soon." The "Pool Players" symbolizes the
average man, but with the "Golden Shovel" is foreshadowing death. The "Jazz June"
symbolizes the carefree demeanor that was flowing through the country, but the last line
"Die soon" show the same conclusion that everybody will encounter, whether you were rich
or poor, black or white, old or young.
She won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1950, being the first African-American to do so.
The 50's and 60's was full of civil turmoil for America. The Civil Rights movement was
gaining momentum and Brooks' poetry also reflected that. The poem Corners on the Curving
Sky, she writes lines such as, "Our earth is round, and, among other things/ That means
that you and I can hold/ completely different/ Points of view and both be right." The
violence and the lack of change that was happening in America frustrated Brooks and she
couldn't understand what was taking so long for things to change.
Also during the 50's, countries in Africa were beginning to gain their independence, but
in the process started many bloody civil wars. These political events are shown in the
poem Old Laughter. It begins with, "The men and women long ago/ In Africa, in Africa/
Knew all there was of joy to know," and the poem ends with, "But richness is long dead/
Old laughter chilled, old music done/ In bright, bewildered Africa/ The bamboo and the
cinnamon/ Are sad in Africa." What made Africa so beautiful has now turned it into
nothing but a bloody battlefield.
Growing older, Brooks' children soon eventually grew up and moved on. Brooks' had been
married for so long that they have become utterly comfortable with one another. It seems
as if marriage has become nothing but repetition for her. A Sunset of the City shows all
that Brooks was feeling at this period in her life. She writes, "Already I am no longer
looked at with lechery or love/ My daughters and sons have put me away with marbles and
dolls/ Are gone from the house/ My husbands and lovers are pleasant or somewhat polite/
And night is night." The title itself is symbolic of Brooks. The city symbolizes Brooks,
and the sunset is as if there is an ending to a chapter in her life. Her job as a mother
has been done and fulfilled. She compares herself to her children's toys, things that
they eventually grow out of. 
The optimism of the civil rights movement soon changed in the 1970's for Brooks. She
urged African-Americans to break free from the repression of the white American society
and advocated anarchy and violence by acceptable means. Her newfound attitude is shown in
the books Beckonings (1975) and To Disembark (1980). The poetry in these books shows an
attitude of disgust with the lack of racial equality.
Gwendolyn Brooks turned 80 in 1997. She was honored with tributes from Chicago to
Washington D.C. Although she was honored by many, perhaps the best description of Brooks'
life and career came from her publisher, Haki Madhubuti, when he said, "She is
undoubtedly one of the top 100 writers in the world. She has been a chronicler of black
life, specifically black life on the South Side of Chicago. She has become almost a
legend in her own time." 
Bibliography
Bibliography
Brooks, Gwendolyn. Annie Allen. New York. Harper & Brothers: 1945.
Brooks, Gwendolyn. Selected Poems. New York. Harper & Row Publishers: 1944.
Miller, James. "Brooks, Gwendolyn." Encarta: 1998. Microsoft.