Brooks was a poet whose first published piece Eventide was printed when she was 13-years-old, and in high school she became a regular contributor to The Chicago Defender newspaper. She is one of the most respected and revered poets of the last century.
In November, 1944, two of her poems, which she submitted unsolicited, were published in Poetry magazine. Unsolicited poems were historically not published by Poetry.
In 1950, she became the first African-American author to win a Pulitzer Prize, for her book Annie Allen.
In the 1960s, Brooks met political activists and artists working to further black cultural nationalism. Although left-leaning throughout her life, pursuing a black nationalist posture helped distance her from the McCarthyism that plagued so many American intellectuals. She taught creative writing to Chicago's Blackstone Rangers, who were known as a criminal gang. She remained a voice for progress throughout her life.
Brooks was appointed Poet Laureate of Illinois in 1968 and held that honor for 32 years, until her death in 2000. In 1976, she became the first African-American woman inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 1988, she was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame
She was named the Poet Laureate Consultant to the Library of Congress for the 1985–86 term.
Brooks taught at the University of Chicago, Columbia College Chicago, Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago State University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Elmhurst College, Columbia University, and the City College of New York.
Faced with racial bias, bigotry and discrimination throughout her life, Gwendolyn Brooks never wavered from the love of her craft and her desire to make an impact on the world around her. She is an American hero.
See, Library of Congress entry: https://www.loc.gov/item/n50041281/gwendolyn-brooks
Watch Brooks read her poem "We Real Cool": https://youtu.be/3GnlLalReRU
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