A Deep & Human Look: Gwendolyn Brooks’ Annie Allen at 75
Selections from Annie Allen
The birth in a narrow room
Maxie Allen
old relative
downtown vaudeville
the ballad of late Annie
do not be afraid of no
my own sweet good
The Anniad
Appendix to the Anniad
sonnet ballad
children of the poor 1-3
XIII intermission (deep summer)
XV
rites for cousin Vit
Beverly Hills, Chicago
X truth
A 75th Anniversary Edition of Annie Allen, featuring original tribute poems and critical essays, is now available through Brooks Permissions.
About Gwendolyn Brooks
Gwendolyn Brooks was born in Topeka on June 7, 1917, to David Anderson Brooks, the son of a runaway slave, and Keziah Corinne (née Wims), and raised in Chicago. Brooks began writing poetry in her teenage years and published her first poem in American Childhood magazine. She sent her early poems to both Langston Hughes and James Weldon Johnson, and both elder poets responded with letters of encouragement. Brooks also became a regular contributor to the Chicago Defender’s “Lights and Shadows” poetry column when she was sixteen. She graduated from Woodrow Wilson Junior College in 1936.
Brooks was the author of more than twenty books of poetry, including Children Coming Home (The David Co., 1991); Blacks (The David Co., 1987); To Disembark (Third World Press, 1981); The Near-Johannesburg Boy and Other Poems (The David Co., 1986); Family Pictures (Broadside Press, 1970); Riot (Broadside Press, 1969); In the Mecca (Harper & Row, 1968), a finalist for the National Book Award; The Bean Eaters (Harper, 1960); Annie Allen (Harper, 1949), for which she received the Pulitzer Prize; and A Street in Bronzeville (Harper & Brothers, 1945), a collection admired by fellow Chicagoan and writer Richard Wright. She also wrote the novel, Maud Martha (Harper, 1953) and Report from Part One: An Autobiography (Broadside Press, 1972). She edited Jump Bad: A New Chicago Anthology (Broadside Press, 1971). Her books for children include Bronzeville Boys and Girls (Harper, 1956), later rereleased in 2015 and illustrated by Faith Ringgold.
After going to a literary conference at Fisk University in 1967, which was also attended by Amiri Baraka and other poets from the Black Arts Movement, Brooks became an activist in the Black Power movement. She also started a poetry workshop from her home. Participants included Sonia Sanchez, Nikki Giovanni, and Don L. Lee (Haki Madhubuti).
In 1968, Brooks was named poet laureate for the state of Illinois. In 1976, she became the first African American to join the National Institute of Arts and Letters. In 1985, she was the first Black woman appointed as consultant in poetry to the Library of Congress (now, poet laureate). She also received an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award, the Frost Medal, a National Endowment for the Arts Award, the Shelley Memorial Award, and fellowships from the Academy of American Poets and the Guggenheim Foundation. Additionally, Brooks earned more than fifty honorary degrees during her career. In 1995, she was awarded the National Medal of the Arts.
Brooks spent her later years dedicated to public service. She conducted poetry readings at prisons and hospitals and attended annual poetry contests for school children, which she often funded.
Brooks lived in Chicago until her death on December 3, 2000.
About Guest Scholar Quraysh Ali Lansana
Quraysh Ali Lansana is author of over twenty books in poetry, nonfiction and children’s literature. Lansana is currently a Tulsa Artist Fellow and a Visiting Associate Professor of English/Creative Writing at the University of Tulsa. He was formerly a Lecturer in Africana Studies at Oklahoma State University-Tulsa where he also served as Director of the Center for Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation. Lansana is Executive Producer of KOSU/NPR’s Focus: Black Oklahoma monthly radio program, which is a recipient of a 2022 duPont-Columbia Award, a 2022 NAACP Image Award, a 2022 Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalists Award and was a Peabody Award nominee. Lansana is also the recipient of a 2022 Emmy Award, a 2022 Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters Award and a 2022 National Educational Telecommunications Association Public Media Award for his roles as host and consultant for the OETA (PBS) documentary film “Tulsa Race Massacre: 100 Years Later.” Lansana is a three-time International Regional Magazine Award-winning Contributing Editor for Oklahoma Today magazine. A former faculty member of both the Writing Program of the School of
the Art Institute of Chicago
and the Drama Division of
The Juilliard School, Lansana served as Director of the Gwendolyn Brooks Center
for Black Literature and
Creative Writing at Chicago State University from 2002-2012 and was Associate Professor of English/Creative Writing there until 2014. His most recent books include Killing the Negative: A Conversation in Art & Verse (with Joel Daniel Phillips), Opal’s Greenwood Oasis, the skin of dreams: new and collected poems, 1995-2018, The Whiskey of Our Discontent: Gwendolyn Brooks as Conscience & Change Agent) and The BreakBeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip Hop.
Forthcoming titles include a children’s biography of Ralph Ellison, a memoir on the last decade of his mentor, Miss Gwendolyn Brooks, and a series of books on the Black Rodeo. Lansana’s work appears in Best American Poetry 2019. He is a founding member of Tri-City Collective and serves on the Board of Directors of the Philbrook Museum of Art, Oklahoma Humanities and the Tulsa Press Club. Lansana is a Curatorial Scholar for The Thomas Gilcrease Institute of American History and Art and a Curatorial Board Co-Chair for the Ragdale Foundation. He is a Cave Canem Fellow and a member of the first cohort of the Culture of Health Leadership for Racial Healing Fellowship.
About The Readers: Lyrik Hunter
Lyrik Hunter, birth name “Krystal” is originally from Midland, Tx, and has resided in the DFW area since she was a teenager. Her educational background and training is in the legal and pharmaceutical fields, which she left behind after an unexpected lay-off from her corporate career as a Pharmacy Manager and Audit Specialist in 2023. Since then she has taken a huge leap of faith as she continues to pursue her God-given purpose and passion, as a traveling inspirational performing artist and mentor. Lyrik is a current roster artist on the City of Dallas Community Artist program, and is also a published author, singer/songwriter, actress, recording Artist, event planner/curator/host, teaching artist, mentor, and full-time entrepreneur. Lyrik is 1/3 of the Denton Black Film Festival’s Poetry Slam 2024 Champion Team, S.I.P. (SISTAS IN POETRY) and FORMER CEO/Co-Owner of “The Brown Sugah Lounge” one of Dallas’s most loved and attended open mic platforms. Lyrik is well-known for her raw, riveting, and vivid works of art and is often referred to as the “singing storyteller” or the “heart healer” amongst her peers. She takes pride in supporting and showing love to others as well as maintaining and building strong relationships and connections with local organizations that purposely seek to extend opportunities for local artists to be seen & heard. Lyrik is a well-known community supporter and voice, who continues to make the world around her a better place, by simply spreading love & light in every room that she enters. You may learn more about Lyrik and how you can support her journey, by visiting her social media platforms or via her link tree site at Linktr.ee/lyrik_hunter.
About The Readers: Linda Jones
Linda Jones is a writing doula, transformational coach, journalist, author, certified grief recovery specialist, creative artist and owner of ManeLock Communications, LLC. She helps clients give birth to writing that helps them tell better stories, preserve legacy, and maintain their emotional health and well-being.
Linda has worked as a journalist for several daily newspapers (i.e., The Detroit News, Dallas Morning News, Ft. Lauderdale News and Sun Sentinel) and has contributed to several print and online publications (i.e., The Daily Beast, USA Today (Sunday), People, Heart & Soul and Essence magazines). Highlights of her news career included coverage of the Black Hebrew Israelites, the expatriate Black American community in Dimona, Israel, the historic U.S. tour of South African activist Nelson Mandela when he was released from prison after 27 years, and the historic 1994 election when he became that country’s first Black president.
She is author of: Family Scribes: Writing Memories for Your Family Tree, Final Story Obituary Planner, It’s Only Temporary: A Journal for Surviving Loved Ones and Nappyisms: Affirmations for Nappy-Headed People and Wannabes! Her work has also appeared in Chicken Soup for the African American Woman’s Soul, and Tenderhanded: A Comb-bending Collection of Hair Stories.
Learn more about Linda at thewritingdoula.com.
About The Readers: KT Witten
KT Witten is taking poetry to new heights-– literally and figuratively.
Standing at 6‘3“ this poet, writer, voiceover artist, and educator is determined to use her original writing and buttery voice to create vivid imagery and emotional resonance for poetry lovers everywhere.
A proud Tejas Poetry Slam champion, KT has graced stages at iconic venues like The House of Blues Dallas, The Black Academy of Arts and Letters Poets, and Jazz, Oak Cliff Cultural Center, and UT Arlington among others.
KT’s artistic journey extends beyond the page. In 2021 she released her debut EP – Now You Can Hear Me, followed by Listen and Poetic Conversations in 2022 and 2023.
With each project, she continues to explore the intersections of poetry, music, and Spoken Word creating an immersive experience for her audience. Whether she’s performing live or sharing her work digitally, KT is committed to using her art to inspire, connect and elevate the poetic experience.
Find her on most social medial platforms @ktwitten.
About The Writer’s Garret
Situated uniquely at the intersection of the literary and educational communities of Dallas and the surrounding area, The Writer’s Garret has been connecting people through the power of language for nearly 3 decades. As the oldest continually operating literary nonprofit in Dallas, The Garret has brought together over 2 million readers, writers and audience members through quality literature and a shared enthusiasm for the literary arts.
The Garret serves the community in three main areas: youth and family programs; partnerships with health & human service organizations; and support for the local literary community and writers. Its signature programs include the immersive summer youth program Rail Writers, which takes participants onto the DART light rail and into the city for a journey of writing, sharing, and exploration; the Common Language Project, a poetry competition resulting in a published anthology and public reading; and the Dallas Is Lit! literary festival, which takes an expansive understanding of what is “literary” and who comprises the “literary community.” For more information, visit writersgarret.org.
Want to support programs like this and others? Donate to The Writer’s Garret here.