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Gwendolyn BrooksA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
“The Last Quatrain of the Ballad of Emmett Till” by Gwendolyn Brooks (1960)
This poem functions as a kind of companion piece to “A Bronzeville Mother Loiters,” and is important for its contrasting form and purpose. “The Last Quatrain of the Ballad of Emmett Till” employs similar, related allusions and metaphors (ballads, quatrains, and the color red) in order to make a very different statement about Emmett Till’s murder.
“We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks (1960)
Perhaps the most famous of Brooks’s poems, this short piece reflects the experiences and struggles of urban Black youth in the United States. “We Real Cool” employs simple diction and sound devices to powerfully indict the violence and loss of young Black men in the United States.
“kitchenette building” by Gwendolyn Brooks (1963)
From her very first published collection of poems, “kitchenette building” is representative of Brooks’s early style and focus. This portrait of life for African Americans living in the urban US exemplifies Brooks’s experiences and preoccupations early in her career.
“The Golden Shovel” by Terrance Hayes (1981)
Hayes, an award-winning contemporary poet, wrote “The Golden Shovel” poem in homage to Brooks and her work.
By Gwendolyn Brooks
A Sunset of the City
Gwendolyn Brooks
Boy Breaking Glass
Gwendolyn Brooks
Cynthia in the Snow
Gwendolyn Brooks
Maud Martha
Gwendolyn Brooks
my dreams, my works, must wait till after hell
Gwendolyn Brooks
Speech to the Young: Speech to the Progress-Toward (Among them Nora and Henry III)
Gwendolyn Brooks
The Ballad of Rudolph Reed
Gwendolyn Brooks
The birth in a narrow room
Gwendolyn Brooks
The Blackstone Rangers
Gwendolyn Brooks
The Chicago Defender Sends a Man to Little Rock
Gwendolyn Brooks
The Crazy Woman
Gwendolyn Brooks
The Lovers of the Poor
Gwendolyn Brooks
The Mother
Gwendolyn Brooks
the rites for Cousin Vit
Gwendolyn Brooks
To Be in Love
Gwendolyn Brooks
To The Diaspora
Gwendolyn Brooks
Ulysses
Gwendolyn Brooks
We Real Cool
Gwendolyn Brooks