Gwendolyn Brooks by Nicole Silverstone and Erin Kuntz


 

 
 
 Gwendolyn Brooks was a spectacular writer who allowed a glimpse into the African-American way of life and reflected in her writing the hardships and racial struggles that she faced. She was born on June 17, 1917 in Topeka, Kansas, and published her first poem when she was only thirteen years old. Brooks was the first African-American writer to receive both the Pulitzer Prize in 1949 and also selected to be part of the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1976. (wikipedia.com) The main theme that is predominant in her writing is the focus of growing up as an African-American, and the pressures of living as an individual who always struggles to be accepted. Before her death by cancer in 2000, she lived to see the Gwendolyn Brooks Cultural Center constructed in her honor. Although she was a hugely popular and successful writer, Brooks always referred to herself as "an ordinary human being who is impelled to write poetry." (Artist Biography: Gwendolyn Brooks)
 
 
We Real Cool  
by:Gwendolyn Brooks 
 

 

THE POOL PLAYERS.

SEVEN AT THE GOLDEN SHOVEL.

 

 

We real cool. We

Left school. We

 

 

Lurk late. We

Strike straight. We

 

 

Sing sin. We

Thin gin. We

 

 

Jazz June. We

Die soon.

 

 
 
“We Real Cool” is a poem that was written in 1966 but portrays the Harlem renaissance. Painting the image of young adults skipping school because they think their cool. Listening to the music of sin in the eye’s of the gospel. Swaying the body in motions that could only be related to the devil. Sweating to the heat filled room in the middle of summer until the night cools the summer’s day. Drinking the forbidden, but thinning it out so that nobody will take notice. Being cool in this time wasn’t the way of the church. In fact most church followers cursed those who fell into this jazz and blues scene. The reasons behind that is because many blues and jazz musicians were taking gospel songs and rhythms and putting very sinful words in them. The perspective of this poem is coming from a young adult, maybe a teenager, who has found themselves in this jazz scene. Perhaps maybe even running away from the church. It's very clear that this poem takes place in a musical atmosphere, were some people might not be fond of it. It definately paints an image of a strong musical influence, until the last line. This may signify the death of culture or maybe to music itself. Although this poem is short, it definately makes the reader feel smooth.
 
 

The Bean Eaters 

by Gwendolyn Brooks 
 
 
 
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 on putting on their clothes
And putting things away.
 
And remembering . . .
Remembering, with twinklings and twinges,
As they lean over the beans in their rented back room that
          is full of beads and receipts and dolls and cloths,
          tobacco crumbs, vases and fringes.
 

Gwendolyn wrote the poem “Bean Eaters” to show the life of an impoverished African-American couple. Even though they have lived a hard and deprived life, they are still content and at the end of the day can sit back and remember their full lives. The setting of the poem is in the couple’s home, and many emotions can be evoked while reading it. From the couple’s “plain chipwear” and their “tin flatwear”, the scene is set for two people who have lived their lives with close to nothing. A sense of feeling sorry for the couple can overcome the reader, but Brooks’ wrote the poem as a way for readers to see how ethnicity shapes the view of one’s life. Rather than feel sorry for themselves, the elderly couple feels a sense of accomplishment as they remember the past. The author’s own experiences as an African-American who faced racial struggles growing up helped her to have a first-hand insight into these characters lives.

 

 

 

SOURCES

 

 

 

 

 

  • "Gwendolyn Brooks." poemhunter.com. 2006. poemhunter.com. 25 April 2007 <www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-bean-eaters>.