.
By Meg Hixon, Siobhan McKissic, Ruthann Mowry, Dana Miller, and RBML Staff
Collection Overview
Title: Gwendolyn Brooks Collection, 1909-2003
Predominant Dates:bulk 1960-2000
ID: 01/01/MSS00086
Primary Creator: Brooks, Gwendolyn (1917-2000)
Extent: 200.0 Linear Feet
Date Acquired: 09/19/2013
Subjects: Poets, American - 20th century
Languages: English
Abstract
This collection consists of a variety of materials related to Gwendolyn Brooks, a Black American poet from Chicago, Illinois.
Scope and Contents of the Materials
Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000) was an American poet and educator born in Topeka, Kansas and raised on the South Side of Chicago. In 1950, Brooks was the first Black person to win a Pulitzer Prize in any category, receiving the award in Poetry for Annie Allen (1949). At the core of this book is "The Anniad," an epic poem that details the life of a young woman in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood. Brooks was a beloved mentor to many poets and artists from the Black Arts movement, and started the Illinois Poet Laureate Awards to encourage poetry writing amongst young people. During her life, Brooks received numerous accolades for her work, including her appointment as Poet Laureate of Illinois in 1968 and Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress (now the Poet Laureate of the United States) in 1985.
This record does not contain collection content for the first series of the Gwendolyn Brooks Collection. Series 1, which contains alphabetical correspondence and correspondence files, was separated from the rest of the collection in an attempt to improve load times. Click here to view series 1 (temporarily MS00086a).
Collection Historical Note
Poet Gwendolyn Brooks was born to parents David Anderson and Keziah Wims Brooks on June 7, 1917 in Topeka, Kansas. A few weeks later, her family moved to Chicago where she would live for the rest of her life. Brooks began writing at an early age and was encouraged by her mother saying, "You are going to be the lady Paul Laurence Dunbar." When she was 13, her poem "Eventide" was published in the children's magazine American Childhood [1]. By the time she graduated high school, Brooks had published over one hundred poems in the "Lights and Shadows" poetry column of the Chicago Defender [2]. After high school, Brooks graduated from a two-year program at Wilson Junior College [3]. In 1939, she married Henry Blakely, Jr. whom she met after joining the Chicago NAACP Youth Council. They soon had their first child, Henry III, and later their daughter, Nora.
Early in her career, Brooks was encouraged by poet James Weldon Johnson and Harlem Renaissance writers Langston Hughes and Richard Wright [4]. In her work, Brooks drew inspiration from her life and surroundings in Chicago. Her first book of poetry, A Street in Bronzeville (1945), received praise for its authentic portraits of the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago. Her second collection of poems, Annie Allen (1949), chronicles the life of a young Black Bronzeville girl. It was for this book that Brooks won the 1950 Pulitzer Prize for poetry, making her the first Black person to win the award in any category [5].
In the 1960s, Brooks work became more overtly political as she became close with activists and writers involved in the Black Arts Movement, a group of artists whose work reflected the cultural side of the growing Black Power movement [6]. She became especially close with Haki Madhubuti, to whom she became both a mentor and a mother figure. Soon Brooks began working exclusively with Black publishers, especially Broadside Press, founded by her close friend Dudley Randall, and Third World Press, founded by Madhubuti. In the 1980s, Brooks also established her own imprint called The David Company.
Throughout her long career, Brooks published more than twenty books of poetry, including The Bean Eaters (1960), Selected Poems (1963), In the Mecca (1968), Riot (1969), Family Pictures (1970), Aloneness (1971), Beckonings (1975), To Disembark (1981), Black Love (1982), The Near-Johannesburg Boy and Other Poems (1986), Blacks (1987), Gottschalk and the Grand Tarantelle (1988), Winnie (1988), and Children Coming Home (1991). She also published one novel, Maud Martha (1953), as well as children's literature such as Bronzeville Boys and Girls (1956) and The Tiger Who Wore White Gloves (1974). Brooks also published two autobiographies, Report from Part One (1972), and Report from Part Two (1995).
In addition to her writing, Brooks taught poetry and creative writing at numerous colleges and universities. In 1990, the Gwendolyn Brooks Center for Black Literature and Creative Writing was founded at Chicago State University, where Brooks served as distinguished professor and writer-in-residence [7]. Brooks influenced generations of writers, not only with her words, but with her actions. For most of the year, she traveled the country to perform her poetry for children of all ages as well as at universities, public libraries, hospitals, and prisons. As she especially encouraged young poets, Brooks sponsored youth poetry awards for over thirty years. Renowned for her generosity, Brooks dedicated her life to promoting the value of poetry and inspiring young writers.
Brooks was the recipient of more than seventy-five honorary doctorates and countless accolades [8]. In 1968, she was appointed Poet Laureate of Illinois, a position which she held until her death in 2000 [9]. In 1985, Brooks was selected for an honorary one-year term as the Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress [10]. She received lifetime achievement awards from both the National Endowment for the Arts in 1989 and the National Book Foundation in 1994. Brooks then received the National Endowment for the Humanities' highest honor when she was named the 1994 Jefferson Lecturer. The next year, Brooks received the National Medal of Arts.
Today, Gwendolyn Brooks' legacy persists as one of the most significant poets of the twentieth century, because of both her contribution to American literature and her kindness and generosity, especially toward young poets and authors of color.
Subject/Index Terms
Administrative Information
Repository:
Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Acquisition Source:
Nora Brooks Blakely
Related Materials:
Celebrating Brooks @ 100
Gwendolyn Brooks Supplementary Materials
Finding Aid Revision History:
This finding aid is experiencing ongoing revision, beginning in June 2023.
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Series:
[
Series 1: Correspondence],
[
Series 2: Writings],
[
Series 3: Gwendolyn Brooks Personal Files],
[
Series 4: Photographs and Scrapbooks],
[
Series 5: Drawings],
[
Series 6: Calendars],
[
Series 7: Public Engagements],
[Series 8: Contests and Scholarships],
[
Series 9: Teaching Materials],
[
Series 10: Programs, Broadsides, Posters, and Ephemera],
[
Series 11: David Company Records],
[[information restricted]],
[[information restricted]],
[
Series 14: Gwendolyn Brooks Personal Realia/Artifacts],
[
Series 15: Gwendolyn Brooks Library],
[
Series 16: Sheet Music],
[
Series 17: LPs],
[
Series 18: Newspapers and Magazines],
[[information restricted]],
[[information restricted]],
[[information restricted]],
[[information restricted]],
[[information restricted]],
[
Series 24: Supplementary Material],
[
All]
- Series 8: Contests and Scholarships
- Sub-series 1: Illinois Poet Laureate Awards
- Box 452
- Folder 1: “1970 ‘Poet Laureate’ Notes”, 1970
- Folder 2: Tiggs, Yolanda letter to Gwendolyn Brooks, 1970
- Folder 3: “Poet Laureate Awards 1971 & 1972”
- Item 1: Poet Laureate Awards speech transcript, 1971
- Item 2: Poem by Black, Barbara, “My God – Savior or Enemy?”, 1971
- Item 3: List of Poet Laureate Award winners and a copy of a poem by Williams, Willie, “A Will”, 1972
- Item 4: “Poet Laureate Awards 1971 & 1972” envelope, undated
- File 4: "1972"
- Folder 4.1: Submissions, 1972
- Folder 5 includes notes by Gwendolyn Brooks.
- Folder 4.2: Names, addresses, and phone numbers, submission draft of packet, and news clipping, 1972
- Includes an invoice for Harlo Printing Company (1974).
- Folder 4.3: Notes and receipt, 1972, 1974
- Includes invoice for Harlo Printing Company (1974).
- File 5: “Poet Laureate 1973 material (“Winning” 20 poems)”
- Folder 5.1-5.2: Submissions, 1973
- Folder 5.3: Packet, 1973
- Includes a Fourth Annual Poet Laureate Awards 1973 booklet.
- Folder 5.4: Notes with names, addresses and phone numbers and packet draft, 1973
- Includes a partial annotated draft for the Fourth Annual Poet Laureate Awards 1973 booklet and an address list for finalists.
- Folder 5.5: Correspondence
- Item 1: Bieze, Linda card, 1973
- Item 2: Connole, Marguerite (Madison Public Schools), 1973
- Item 3: Dennis, Marilyn, 1973
- Item 4: Goodkind, Allan (Murray F. Tulley High School), 1973
- Item 5: Guzeman, Tracy envelope, 1973
- Item 6: Kuzmyn, Steven, 1973
- Folder 5.6: “Poet Laureate 1973 material (“Winning” 20 poems)” envelope, undated
- Folder 6: 4th Illinois Poet Laureate Awards, 1973
- Includes publication and draft of speech.
- Folder 7-8: 5th Illinois Poet Laureate Awards, 1974
- Folder 7: Submissions, 1974
- Folder 8: List of Poet Laureate Award winners, packet, notes, and envelope, 1974
- Folder 9-13: 6th Illinois Poet Laureate Awards, 1975
- Folder 9: Submissions, 1975
- Folder 10: Correspondence, 1975
- Includes correspondence to Denny, Jack from Ray, Tom and thank you cards from school children.
- Folder 11: News clipping and note, 1975
- Folder 12: “6th Poet Laureate 1975 Awards” envelope, 1975
- Folder 13: Submissions and “Poet Laureate Awards 1975” envelope, 1975
- Box 453
- File 1: "Seventh Annual Illinois Poet Laureate Awards 1976"
- Folder 1.1: Submissions, 1976
- Folder 1.2: Packets and winners list, 1976
- Folder 1.3: Correspondence, 1976
- Includes correspondence by Norris, Hoke.
- Folder 1.4: Packet, 1976
- File 2: Eighth Poet Laureate Awards June 7, 1977"
- Folder 2.1: Submissions, 1977
- Folder 2.2: Correspondence, 1977
- Item 1-2: Bruckner, D. J. R., 1977
- Item 3: Franklin, Mary Ann, 1977
- Folder 2.3: Notes on winners, 1977
- Folder 2.4: News clipping, 1977
- Folder 2.5: “1977” envelope, 1977
- File 3: "9th Annual Poet Laureate Awards 1978"
- Folder 3.1: Submissions, 1978
- Folder 3.2: Notes and “1978” envelope, 1978
- File 4: "No. 10"
- Folder 4.1: Submissions and printed booklet, 1978
- Folder 4.2: Correspondence, 1978
- Item 1: Andoniadis, Lisa, 1979
- Item 2: Breneman, Kim, 1978
- Include postcard and poems.
- Item 3: Tessler, Sherry, 1978
- Item 4: Williams, Thelma J., 1979
- Folder 4.3: Packets, 1978
- Folder 4.4-4.7: Chicago History enclosures, 1978
- Folder 4.8: Chicago History and enclosures, 1978
- Folder 4.9: Notes, announcements, speech, and envelope, 1978
- Envelope removed to oversized.
- Folder 5: 10th Illinois Poet Laureate Awards, publications, 1978
- Box 454
- File 1: "1980 Eleventh Poet Laureate Awards"
- Folder 1.1-1.2: Submissions, 1980
- Folder 2: 11th Illinois Poet Laureate Awards, submissions, 1980
- Folder 1-3: Submissions, 1980
- Folder 4: Speech draft, announcement, and correspondence, 1980
- Folder 5: Notes and announcement, 1980
- Folder 6: Newsprint, 1980
- Folder 7: Photographs
- Envelope removed to oversized.
- File 3: "1980"
- Folder 3.1: Speech draft, announcement, and correspondence, 1980
- Folder 3.2: Notes and announcement, 1980
- Folder 3.3: Newsprint, 1980
- Folder 3.4: Photographs, 1980
- Envelope removed to oversized.
- File 4: “12th Poet Laureate Awards June 11, 1981”
- Folder 4.1-4.2: Submissions, 1981
- Folder 4.3: Correspondence, 1981
- Item 1: Anderson, Barbara, 1981
- Item 2: Saylor, Joanna, 1981
- Item 3: Peroutka, Verna, circa 1981
- Item 4: Unaddressed letter draft from Gwendolyn Brooks, circa 1981
- Folder 4.4-4.5: Printed Packets, 1981
- Folder 4.6: Speech notes and winners lists, 1981
- Folder 4.7: Notes, 1981
- Folder 4.8: Newspaper clippings, 1981
- Folder 4.9: Newspaper, 1981
- Folder 4.10: Advertisement, correspondence, and envelope, 1981
- File 5: “Poet Laureate Award Material”
- Folder 5.1: Correspondence
- Item 1: Anderson, Barbara N., 1981
- Item 2: Hirn, Kathryn, 1980
- Folder 5.2: Correspondence
- Item 1: Hirn, Kathryn, 1980
- Includes “Heritage (L’Chaim!)” poem.
- Item 2: Wille, Lois (Chicago Sun-Times), undated
- Item 3: Williams, Mattie A. (City of Chicago. Board of Education), 1981
- Folder 5.3: List and newspaper
- Item 1: “Twelfth Poet Laureate Awards” listing, undated
- Item 2: Chicago Sun-Times newspaper clipping, 1979
- Folder 5.4: Newspaper and envelope
- Item 1: Issue of Chicago Sun-Times (June 16), 1981
- Two copies.
- Item 2: “Poet Laureate Award Material” envelope, undated
- Box 455
- File 1: "13th Annual Illinois Poet Laureate Awards”
- Folder 1.1: Submissions, 1982
- Folder 1.2: Correspondence, 1982
- Folder 1.3-1.5: Printed packet, 1982
- Folder 1.6-1.8: Printed poems, 1982
- Folder 1.9: "13th Annual Illinois Poet Laureate Awards” envelope, 1982
- Folder 2: 13th Annual Illinois Poet Laureate Awards, Correspondence and poem from student and finalist, 1982
- File 3: "14th Annual Illinois Poet Laureate Awards 1983”
- Folder 3.1: Submissions, 1983
- Folder 3.2: Correspondence, 1982
- Folder 3.3-3.4: Printed Packet, 1982
- Folder 3.5: Announcements (draft) and notes, 1983
- Folder 3.6: "14th Annual Illinois Poet Laureate Awards 1983” envelope, 1983
- File 4: “Poet Laureate Clippings”
- Folder 4.1: News clippings and event announcement, 1983
- Folder 4.2: Program (Cedar Art Center), 1983
- Box 456
- File 1: "1984 15th Illinois Poet Laureate Awards Winners Typed And Manuscripts (with addresses)”
- Folder 1.1: Submissions, 1984
- Folder 1.2: Printed packet, 1984
- Folder 1.3: Notes, correspondence, and envelope, 1984
- File 2: "Special"
- Folder 2.1: Printed packet, 1984
- Folder 2.2: Correspondence, 1984
- Folder 2.3: Lists and publications, 1984
- Folder 4: “Special” envelope, 1984
- Folder 3-8: 16th Illinois Poet Laureate Awards, Special “Health” Competition, 1985
- Folder 3: Submissions, 1985
- Folder 4: Packet (printed incomplete draft) and correspondence, 1985
- Folder 5: Publication and correspondence, 1985
- Includes correspondence by Nuno, Teresa and by Haas, Shirley.
- Folder 6: Correspondence, 1985
- Includes correspondence by Haas, Shirley and photo of Gwendolyn Brooks with winners.
- Folder 7: Correspondence
- Item 1: Athanasen, Steve, 1985
- Item 2: Wilkinson, Rhonda, 1985
- Folder 8: Note and announcement, 1985
- File 9: “Poet Laureate 1985”
- Folder 9.1: Submissions, 1985
- Folder 9.2-9.3: Printed packet, 1985
- Folder 9.4: Publication and newspaper, 1985
- Includes a copy of Young Poet’s Primer, a grouping of poetry submissions for the 1984 Poet Laureate Awards, and newspaper clippings from the Chicago Sun-Times. Contains a separation sheet.
- Box 457
- Folder 1-5: 17th Illinois Poet Laureate Awards, 1986
- Folder 1: Notes, lists, and correspondence, 1986
- Includes correspondence by Rothberg, Nancy.
- Folder 2-5: Packets, 1986
- Box 458
- Item 1: “Laureate Awards 1986” box, 1986
- Box 459
- Box 460
- Box 461
- Box 462
- Box 463
- Box 464
- Box 465
- Box 466
- Box 467
- Box 468
- Box 469
- Box 470
- Box 471
- Box 472
- Box 473
- Box 474
- Box 475
- Box 476
- Sub-series 2: Non-IPLA contests
- Box 477
- Folder 1: Chicago Public Library award notification, 1988
- Folder 2: Dr. Stephen Caldwell Wright Poetry Awards
- Item 1: Second Annual Dr. Stephen Caldwell Wright Poetry Awards (Seminole Community College) program, 1986
- Item 2: “Chronicle: A Compilation of Award Winning Poetry, 1985-1986”, 1986
- Item 3: Informational pamphlet, undated
- Includes a business card for Jones, David Howell.
- Item 4: “Chronicle: A Compilation of Prize-Winning Poetry”, 1993
- Two copies.
- Item 5: “Chronicle: A Compilation of Award Winning Poetry”, 1990
- Folder 3: Frank E. Dobson Poetry Awards programs, 1988, 1991-1992
- Folder 4: Frank Edward Dobson Poetry Contest program, 1992
- Folder 5: “Governor Thompson’s Inaugural Children’s Poem Contest (Judge Gwen Brooks”
- Item 1: Contest winner announcement speech, 1977?
- Item 2: Grouping of Western Union Mailgram confirmations, 1977
- Item 3: Grouping of poetry submissions by children, 1977?
- Includes an envelope.
- Item 4: “Governor Thompson’s Inaugural Children’s Poem Contest (Judge Gwen Brooks)” folder, undated
- Folder 6: Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Awards (Cook County Hospital), 1976
- Includes poems from prize winners and honorable mentions, as well as a “Health and Hospitals Governing Commission of Cook County” folder.
- Folder 7: Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Contest, Longfellow envelopes (unsent and empty), undated
- Folder 8: Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Contest (Marshall High School (Chicago)), 1966
- Folder 9: Henry Blakely Award (Chicago State University), 2000
- Includes a letter from Gwendolyn Brooks to award recipients, an empty envelope labeled “W. Keorapetse Kgositsile,” and a blue folder.
- Folder 10: Keziah Brooks Memorial Awards (Metropolitan Community Church), 1979
- Includes submissions and contest guidelines.
- File 11: “Students’ Typed Mss. That Have Been Taped & ‘Kinko-ed’”
- Folder 11.1-11.3: Grouping of poetry submissions by children, undated
- Folder 11.4: “Students Typed Mss. That Have Been Taped & ‘Kinko-ed’” Kinko’s envelope, undated
- Folder 12: “Washington D.C. poetry contest”, 1985
- Includes submissions and correspondence from Thomason, Rose (George Washington Junior High School (Alexandria, VA)) and Thompson, Leone B. (H.D. Woodson High School (Washington, D.C.)).
Browse by Series:
[
Series 1: Correspondence],
[
Series 2: Writings],
[
Series 3: Gwendolyn Brooks Personal Files],
[
Series 4: Photographs and Scrapbooks],
[
Series 5: Drawings],
[
Series 6: Calendars],
[
Series 7: Public Engagements],
[Series 8: Contests and Scholarships],
[
Series 9: Teaching Materials],
[
Series 10: Programs, Broadsides, Posters, and Ephemera],
[
Series 11: David Company Records],
[[information restricted]],
[[information restricted]],
[
Series 14: Gwendolyn Brooks Personal Realia/Artifacts],
[
Series 15: Gwendolyn Brooks Library],
[
Series 16: Sheet Music],
[
Series 17: LPs],
[
Series 18: Newspapers and Magazines],
[[information restricted]],
[[information restricted]],
[[information restricted]],
[[information restricted]],
[[information restricted]],
[
Series 24: Supplementary Material],
[
All]