Gwendolyn Brooks, poet, died Sunday.

December 4, 2000 1:10 AM

Gwendolyn Brooks, poet, died Sunday.
posted by sugarfish (5 comments total)

That's a real shame -- she was a great poet.
posted by snarkout at 5:52 AM on December 4, 2000

We Real Cool is one of my favorite poems. I love the visual style, the tone... she was fantastic.
posted by hijinx at 5:59 AM on December 4, 2000

Gwendolyn Brooks was not only an excellent poet, she was also an important figure in black arts publishing, leaving a big mainstream publisher to go with smaller black-oriented publisher. Replicate my Google search and you'll find plenty of interesting things to read by and about her.
posted by jhiggy at 7:33 AM on December 4, 2000

Fifteen years ago, Gwendolyn Brooks came to visit my rural public high school as part of her ongoing efforts to encourage student writing. She took the time to read some truly awful drivel I'd written - gently and honestly suggesting that some of the more cliched metaphors weren't as expressive as they could be, and showing me some small words and phrases that weren't so bad after all. What I remember most was the absolute graciousness with which she made a fourteen year old girl feel like we were having a conversation, poet to poet - it took several years before I truly understood the extent of that generosity.
posted by judith at 9:36 AM on December 4, 2000

She is one of my favorite poets. I would say something about how she might get the recognition she is due now that she is dead, but I didn't even know she died until I read this.
posted by jennyb at 9:18 AM on December 5, 2000