(1917-2000)

Gwendolyn Brooks has been a leading force in American letters for decades. Her poetry, writes Adrienne Rich, "holds up a mirror to the American experience entire, its dreams, self-delusions and nightmares. Her voice is inimitable."

Born in Topeka, Kansas, in 1917, she was the first Black writer to win the Pulitzer Prize (1950 for Annie Allen). Author of more than twenty books of poetry and recipient of many honors, including the Frost Medal and the Academy of American Poets' Fellowship for distinguished poetic achievement, Brooks is writer-in-residence at Chicago State University and has served since 1969 as the Poet Laureate of Illinois.

Poetry Center Reading:

Fall 2000