English department studies Pulitzer Prize winning poet Gwendolyn Brooks

The first African American author to win the Pulitzer Prize, Gwendolyn Brooks, made her way into history with a unique style of poetry.

At Marshall University, Brooks has also made an impression on the English department where many professors have added her work to their course curriculum, whether it's teaching or reading her work. "We Real Cool" is a poem a handful of English professors on campus said was a favorite.  

English professor Arthur Stringer said the poem is set in the voice of young street punks and tells the truth about self-destruction using abrupt phrasing and pure rhymes to highlight the tragedy.  Stringer, and English professor Caroline Harris, said the poem is one they have both loved.

"Though I have never taught her work, her poem ‘We Real Cool' was an early favorite of mine, and perhaps what subconsciously got me interested in poetry, the concentration for my degrees," Harris said.

English professor Eric Smith said he will be teaching Brooks' poetry this semester and knows students are excited about Brook's works. Fellow English professor John Young also said in his experience with students Brooks' work has been well liked.

"Probably the most popular of her poems among students is ‘We Real Cool', as it's fairly accessible and seems to speak to a younger generation," Young said.

   It was not until her second book of poetry, "Annie Allen" that Brooks won the Pulitzer Prize. From then on, she was the recipient of a multiple of awards.

In the mid-1960s, Brooks stopped publishing her work with major New York firms as she became more involved with the Black Arts movement, the artistic side of the Civil Rights movement. Brooks only published her work with presses owned by African American publishers. This decision caused many of Brooks' later poems to be read less. Young said Brooks' choice was fascinating.

 "In my estimation, the later work is just as interesting and important, if not more so," Young said. "Brooks was already established as a poet at the time, part of the cost was effectively disappearing from anthologies as far as the second half of her career is concerned."

Brooks made an impact as one of the most well known poets in the U.S. during the 1950s. Young said he would definitely recommend Brooks to college students today.

"Many of the themes she addresses, though local to the particular environments of he community in Chicago in the 1950s and forward, still speak to the kinds of situations many college students find themselves in currently," Young said.

   Crystal Myers can be contacted at Myers132@marshall.edu.