Gwendolyn Brooks Books

This book contains some of Gwendolyn Brooks best poetry. It is definitely a keeper!

Gwendolyn Brooks is one of my favorite poets and this anthology of her work gives a glimpsing answer to the question 'why?' "Blacks" is a veritae encyclopedia of the America experience written in Brooks' lucid but unsettling style.

It's people like T.S Eliot which make us think art is an inclusive privilege of a born, elite few. And then artists -like Brooks- go right along and prove that, at its best, art is inclusive, fun and thought-provoking. Rather than tying itself up in esoteric knots, Brooks' poetry flows along personal but recognizable paths that most blacks have experienced at one time or another.

I go to Northwestern U. and we've had the privilege of her speaking at our school many times. And after meeting her my respect only grew.

Forever "young, gifted and black" Gwedolyn Brooks deserves nothing less than the attention given to the likes of Langston Hughes or Phylis Wheatley. This books shows us why.

A collection of poetry by Brooks, probably the most honored African- American poet. It also includes "Maud Martha," Brooks' single novel to date. I liked the novel, but felt it was a little too much for me. I like poetry, but I think I like it in small doses, where I can relax and read and reread it without concentrating on how much time it is taking me to do so. Her fiction is like poetry, in the sense that it had as much to do with the vision of things as it did with the characterization or the plot. This is my failing as a reader: I've never cared that much for description, and the longer it continues, the more likely I am to tune out.

But the short poems here, especially from her earlier period, I like a lot. The subjects are strong and powerful, the economy and purpose of the prose admirable. One of my favorites was a poem called "Queen of the Blues," which contrasted the stage persona of a Billie Holliday-like singer with the treatment she receives as an African-American woman. Queen or no queen, she still has the blues. Or "The Murder," about a young boy who sits his toddler brother on fire then doesn't understand when the little brother isn't around afterwards. I did not care as much for her later poems, which were much more experimental in form and harder to follow in content.

"Blacks" is a collection of several decades' worth of the work of Gwendolyn Brooks, who is one of the most significant figures in 20th century American poetry. At over 500 pages long, "Blacks" is a truly monumental text. Included are several books in their entirety ("Annie Allen," "In the Mecca," etc.) as well as excerpts from some later books ("Primer for Blacks," "The Near-Johannesburg Boy and Other Poems," etc.). Although most of the books represented are works of poetry, "Blacks" also contains the text of Brooks' 1953 novel "Maud Martha."

Brooks is a stylistic virtuoso, proficient with the sonnet, ballad, free verse, and other forms. She is an expert with alliteration, rhyme, and other musical effects. Her vocabulary is encyclopedic; she evokes not only African-American vernacular speech, but also the entire sweeping history of the literary tradition in English. In this collection are both short poems and longer poems.

Many of Brooks' poems deal with aspects of African-American life. She writes of anti-Black violence and other forms of racism, and reflects upon enduring figures in African-American cultural history. She also writes of family relationships and intimate personal crises.

Her novel, "Maud Martha," is a poetic chronicle of the life of a dark-skinned urban Black girl. We follow Maud Martha through her girlhood, marriage, and motherhood. "Maud Martha" is a memorable vision of an African-American woman's life, and, in my opinion, should stand beside such literary works as Harriet Jacobs' "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl," Zora Neale Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God," and Audre Lorde's "Zami."

Of Brooks' long poems, I found the most memorable to be "In the Mecca," a tragic and haunting narrative poem that takes place in a Chicago apartment building. "In the Mecca" is a sort of urban, African-American "Odyssey" in which we encounter the various inhabitants of this world.

In her poetic tribute to Langston Hughes, Brooks writes that he has "a long reach, / strong speech." I would say the same of Brooks. Her amazing body of work deserves to reach into the 21st century and beyond.

Its been a few years since I thought about this book. I was searching around suggested items from Amazon, and memories of this great writer came rushing back to me. This book is a collection of poems, short stories, a novel, highlights from several decades of excellent writing. I wish Chicago would do more to honor her like Europe honors their great writers regardless of race. Anyway, Ms. Brook's poetry is influenced by the classical literature she studied during her time and she takes that style to the south side of inner city of black Chicago. The results are poems that feel quiet, calm, much like the demeanor she displayed when she was alive. However she can communicate anger, depression , anguish, without hitting you across the head with it. This changes a little when you read through some of her sixtites work such as the "Riot" which describes the riot in the sixties after Dr. King was assasinated. I find myself missing her reading "We real cool" but at least I have this and other books from her memory alive in me.

The book was in perfect condition, but I was most impressed with the shipping time. I had tried to order this from two other bookstores, a neighborhood bookstore and another giant, and both of them had serious trouble getting the book from the publisher. With Amazon, the book was on my doorstep two days later. THANKS!

Oh, how I wish the wonderful Ms. Brooks would write more novels!

First of all, Maud Martha was written very economically which has caused me to gain a greater appreciation of poetry and concise speaking.

Secondly, Maud Martha is not only written to a female or adult audience, but it speaks to all people of different age groups, races, or walks of life.

I appreciate Gwendolyn Brooks for her nobility and classic style. Hope to see at least one more novel from her.

I have already passed on a few copies of Maud Martha. This has gone on to being my favorite book...EVER!

I first read Brooks's only novel in a graduate seminar--because I was forced to read it. I had never read anything quite like it. The artistry is amazing, and the story is one that had to be told. Of course, those familiar with Brooks's wonderful poetry, particularly the Pulitzer Prize winning ANNIE ALLEN (1949), will see the strong parallels between her poetry and MAUD MARTHA. I've taught the novel in my American literature and African American literature courses. Students love it! It's a classic tale about self-discovery that makes it an enjoyable read for anyone who enjoys well-crafted poetic prose.

"Maud Martha" is a wonderful novel and a definate must read, for it addresses issues of growing up, but it also tackles race issues in the US. I found the previous customer review passionate, but for those of you waiting for Brooks's next book, you should know that Gwendolyn Brooks, who is known more as a poet, passed away this year. She lives on in her poetry, however. I suggest the book "Selected Poems" by Gwendolyn Brooks.

We needn't act so surprised that the great twentieth century American poet Gwendolyn Brooks wrote books of poetry for children. What could be more natural? This poet shares her gifts with the small people that inhabit her hometown (in this case, Chicago). What did surprise me was the original publication date of this title. Now I read through this entire collection of urban poetry and I had a fairly clear idea that these poems must have been written in the 1970s. After all, collections of poems featuring African-American children were just beginning to blossom after the Civil Rights movement. I was feeling pretty smug until I glanced at the date in question. 1956. So roughly twenty years before the United States understood the importance of creating children's literature for people from all walks of life, Gwendolyn Brooks was taking matters into her own hands.

"Bronzeville Boys and Girls" collects thirty-four short poems about children into a single compendium. Each poem contains the name of a child. This child is either the subject of the poem, or the person delivering it. Taken as a whole, the book feels like nothing so much as a slightly updated series of nursery rhymes. Brooks is an accomplished poet and there is something about the way her lines scan that feels old and established. Take, for example, this poem entitled, "John, Who Is Poor". "Give him a berry, boys, when you may/ And, girls, some mint when you can/ And do not ask when his hunger will end/ Nor yet when it began". For me, these poems acknowledge the struggles that all children, regardless of race, face in the world's poverty laden big cities. Though most the poems have an element of whimsy or light-heartedness to them, many are socially conscious. The boy who does not receive what he wants for Christmas reflects, "To frown or fret would not be fair/ My Dad must never know I care/ It's hard enough for him to bear". You won't find any poems about some of the harsher aspects of city living (drugs, prostitution, etc.) that are so common these days, in part because this book was published so very long ago. Also, it is written with a distinctly young age group in mind. Accompanying Ms. Brooks's verses are various illustrations by Ronni Solbert. The combination of words with images felt almost like a predecessor to Shel Silverstein at times, though I'd be hard pressed to tell you exactly why. It's just something about the occasional silliness of the children pictured.

At the moment, the big urban nursery rhyme crowd pleaser is the accomplished, "The Neighborhood Mother Goose". But that book just restructures old nursery rhymes for contemporary kids. Gwendolyn Brooks went so far as to create new and exiting nursery rhymes for the children of her day and age. Today, most of them read as crisp and clearly as they did the day they were made. There are some exceptions, of course. A couple poems feel a little stilted or overly formal towards the kids reading them today. But many are fine examples of superior writing. If you ever find that you are able to locate a copy of "Bronzeville Boys and Girls", I suspect that you will not regret the fact any time soon.

One of my pet peeves with many biographies written for young adults is how they tend to mythologize their subject matter. I've read this book and 2 others from Morgan Reynolds (William Grant Still and Thurgood Marshall) and I'm delighted to see that while the accomplishments of these great Americans are presented accurately, they also come off sounding like real people, not icons. For example, when Brooks visited the White House for the first time, she wore an elegant evening gown, unaware that guests would be dressed casually. Embarrassed, she left early (before the President) committing another faux pas. Mixing that story in with her vast accomplishments would have been very heartening to me as an insecure teenager!

Racial issues within the black community are also clearly addressed. Too often it's presumed that "all black people think alike" and these books clearly present some of the range and variety of opinion their subjects encountered during their lifetimes.

Poems and Annatations by Brooks, Brauer, Covert and Knight, is a bouguet of spring flowers, from the lips of teenagers, and adults. The simplicity of the rhyme and verse are just a pleasure to read. I would recommend this book for all high school libraries and college libraries--Poetry IS NOT DEAD and will never be, as long as the world's people can express themselves in verse.

I truly enjoyed reading "Report from Part Two" by Gwendolyn Brooks. I read the book as part of the research I did for a school project and I was fascinated by the stories and poems I found within. The book is written in fragments that combine to form a remarkable image. We learn about Gwendolyn Brooks through her reflections on those around her, and revel in the beautiful prose and poetry she bestows on the reader. A great read for anyone even remotely interested in this wonderful poet!

Urban Rage in Bronzeville is a critical literary text which focuses on how poet Gwendolyn Brooks impacts Arts & Letters in America. Dr. B.J. Bolden's work focuses on the impact of Brooks in the areas of Political Science, Social Science, Literature and Society, US History, City-Town life in Literature, Afro-American Literature and Anger in Literature. Bolden explains the three works in clear historical, racial, political, cultural, and aesthetic terms. The works examined in Bolden's book are: A Street in Bronzeville (1945), Annie Allen (1949), and The Bean Eaters (1960). Bolden looks at all three works with an emphasis on the historical, formal, and feminist contexts. The slave experience and its long range effects on the lives of and values of Blacks in Bronzeville are identified and explained by Bolden. The white-standard system of self hate, despair, poverty, disdain, filth, sickness, and death is contrasted with hope, joy, god, and ideas of good. Bolden uses the works of Cayton, Drake, Myrdal and Williams to set up the social context for a view of Brooks' treatment of Bronzeville. The formal treatment of Brooks by Bolden hits at the core of cultural and aesthetic values. Brooks is considered the master of many elements of the formal poetics. Bolden unlocks these complex poetic forms Brooks uses to develop the epic poem. In the third work, the Bean Eaters (1960), Bolden explicates the poem, "A Bronzeville Mother Loiters in Mississippi, Meanwhile a Mother in Mississippi Burns Bacon." This poem about the Emmet Till incident is an example of Brooks' complex poetics because it uses the view of the white female who made the accusation to tell the story and transmit the sense of hate, horror, and death that go with history. Bolden shows that the critics response to Brooks' poem was harsh despite the mastery and complexity of the piece. Bolden's work is immensely important for the cultural, historical, racial implications, and is a critical and necessary book to read. Carnell Littlejohn, M.S. Mathematics, Chicago State University. This is a brief excerpt of a lengthier review given by Mr. Littlejohn.

Gwendolyn Brooks delivers an exceptional volume once again, and she speaks to the young(er) poets who have so much to share with the world. Brooks' vision for fledgling poets is encouraging and full of hope. This is a wonderful volume full of direction and inspiration for the poet within.

Langston Hughes provides an introduction into this selected anthology of short stories by prominent African American writers like Langston Hughes' himself with his classic short story, "Thank You, Mam." We also have a short story by poet Gwendolyn Brooks and dancer/choreographer Katherine Dunham. There are the traditional authors like Zora Neale Huston, James Baldwin, Charles Chesnutt, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Ralph Ellison, Ernest J. Gaines, Jean Toomer, and Richard Wright only to name a few. It's still a great anthology of assorted stories about African American life in America from the South to Chicago and New York.

This book is a collection of short stories that was put together by the great Harlem Renaissance writer, Langston Hughes. Some authors whose works are also featured in the book are Richard Wright, Zora Neale Hurston, and Alice Walker. These stories are fun to read and they speak about the current issues that Black America was facing during the time period. This book is for anyone who is trying to better understand black thought during the 20th century.

This book is an excellent example of reality. In each short story, there is some kind of relivance of growing up in a nation filled with crime, love, kindenss, hardships, and friendships. The writers express themselves so wonderfully, vivid pictures of the events are played in my head. It keeps middle-school children very attentive, mainly because they can easily relate to the troubles of growing up today. Teens can feel a sense of comfort in this book because they know they are not alone. This book contains collections by some of the best authors in the world. It really makes the african-american culture shine to where all cultures will enjoy!

Brooks is a poet whose best known poems actually conceal her greatness from readers of poetry. To know Brooks by "We Real Cool" is just like knowing Williams by the wheelbarrow poem and the plums in the fridge. This is crazy!

I'm hard pressed to think of a standard that anybody could use to judge poetry and not understand that Gwnedolyn Brooks is one of the greatest American poets ever. In her many years, she managed to be everything: imaginative, weird, gorgeous and difficult language, a populist who is also a master at dislodging language from the commonplce, hard-nosed, unafraid of unpleasantness, moving, funny at times, a master of tone, personal and social, a master of form, and a master of free verse. She is a category buster, and frankly, next to her work, its variousness and there-ness, even post-WW2 poets who are amazing are a little less impressive, a bit goofier and egoistic.

She is also an example of a poet who really changes throughout her life & who is great at every stage of it.

This is a wonderful book for both children and adults. If you like poems, then you should definetly read this book.

I like Gwendolyn Brooks. But I like poetry that tells a story more and this book didn't have much of it. My favorite poem was "Bronzeville Woman in a Red Hat" because it was more my style of poetry, a hidden story being revealed by every line. I just wasn't feeling the poetry in this book. It seemed a little dry. I love "We Real Cool" and classics like that, but I don't feel this book showcased Brooks' ability to tell a story and recite a poem at the same time.

Various editions of "Selected Poems" by the late Gwendolyn Brooks are floating around, most of which only have differences in layout or binding. All have the core poems that defined Brooks as one of America's poets with a social conscience.

In the spirit of Carl Sandburg and Langston Hughes, and occasionally, Robert Frost, her poetry meets the reader head-on. However, to Brooks' credit, and what makes her a great poet, is she sees the big picture, just her greatly skilled colleagues listed above.

Brooks was black. She neither hid it, nor would be ashamed that I said so. Many of her poems revolved around the issues impacting African Americans, both the responsibility they have, as well as an acknowledgment of the difficulties they endure because of racism and cultural differences.

Her poems will survive (and are worth reading today) because they were not shackled to the political milieu of the day. What she wrote in the 1940s, when racism was bolder and more detrimental than today, matters.

She was current, yet eternal. Even though "The Last Quatrain of the Ballad of Emmett Till" refers to a young man murdered decades ago, the reader without that context will still appreciates its common-spoken depth (her indents are diminished in my copy below because of the software to post this):

after the murder,
after the burial

Emmett's mother is a pretty-faced thing;
the tint of pulled taffy.
She sits in a red room,
drinking black coffee.
She kisses her killed boy.
And she is sorry.
Chaos in windy grays
through a red prairie.

Award-winning, and well-celebrated toward the end of her life, Brooks complete collection of poems is a valuable lesson in compassion, speaking with strong poetic voice, and honesty. For the reader looking for an introduction to Brooks' poetry without having to work through the vast complete works would do well to start here.

I fully recommend "Selected Poems" by Gwendolyn Brooks.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

Five stars! If I had to choose the ten greatest books of the twentieth century, Brooks' Selected Poems would have to be one of them. Her voice is entirely original - no one who came before Brooks or follows her writes quite like her. Brooks' work is distinguished by so many wonderful qualities - she may have the best ear of any living American poet. Her sense of the musicality of language rivals that of Yeats and Dylan Thomas (as in, say, "A Sunset of the City," "We Real Cool," "Big Bessie throws her son into the street, and her great long poem, "Riot."). I once heard Gwendolyn Brooks read over twenty years ago when I was in college, and I still haven't forgotten the sound of her voice, and with it the dawn of my understanding that poetry is half-music, half-language. Brooks is also capable of that kind of clarity and brilliance of imagery that you find in the best William Carlos Williams Poems. (Read, for example, "The Last Quatrain of the Ballad of Emmett Till" or "My Little `Bout Town Gal"). What has always been most special about her work for me, however, is the way Brooks captures nuances of feeling, multi-layers of emotion, in a few phrases, as in her very contemporary poem about abortion, "the mother," or her love poem, "A Lovely Love." The only other poet I know of who does this so well is Emily Dickinson.