Selected Poems, Gwendolyn Brooks, Harper & Row, 1963, 137 pp
I finished this collection of selected poems by Gwendolyn Brooks. I have got the habit now of reading a poem a day, usually before bed. Even more than fiction, a poem takes me out of my own head and into the poet's.
Ms Brooks was a phenom when it came to publishing books of poetry: 19 of them. She won a Pulitzer Prize in 1950, the first Black author to do so. "I am interested in telling my particular truth as I have seen it," she wrote. Her truth comes from her life as a Black woman in America.
She only wrote one novel, Maud Martha, 1953. I liked it so much that for years I was upset she didn't write more novels. I am no longer upset. Her poems are just as good. I hope one day to read all of those 19 books.
So far in my poetry adventure I have read 20th century poets. Now I am ready for the earlier works, the foundations of modern poetry. I have dug out The Standard Book of British and American Verse from my shelves. It begins with Chaucer (1340-1400) and ends with Vita Sackville West (1892-1962). On the advice of Christopher Morley, who wrote the preface, I am reading it back to front, "so that you begin with the contemporary mood and gradually swim towards older words and manners," as he says. It is a huge book, 735 pages. It may take me the rest of my life to read! I feel fine, after Gwendolyn Brooks's rendering of her American experience, about swimming towards earlier beginnings. It is part of what we do as we age.
I need to read more poetry myself. I love the idea of reading one poem a day. I have just read smattering of poets. When I do choose a poet I tend to read them extensively. I must give Brooks a try.
ReplyDeleteHappy to have inspired you!
Deletethat's right, we do get younger as we age! never thought about it that way; tx! what peculiar creatures we are...
ReplyDeleteThanks for picking up on that!
DeleteGwendolyn Brooks was, as Maya Angelou would say, a "phenomenal woman". I'm glad you've enjoyed her poetry and I salute you for reading a poem a day. Poetry is always a good way to end the day, I think.
ReplyDeleteYes, she seems to have been. The Penguin Classic edition I read had a short but detailed biography in the back. A poem a day keeps my blues away!
DeleteI've been meaning to read Gwendolyn Brooks, as she is a luminary. I like your take that the books of poetry you have left to read may be just as good as the novel!
ReplyDeleteShe is so worth reading. I have come a long way to find poems as good as a novel!
DeleteI don't read enough poetry and this makes me want to change that.
ReplyDeleteGood! I think there is an app or something where you can sign up to get a poem a day.
DeleteI like your idea of reading one poem a day. That makes getting through more poetry manageable.
ReplyDeleteIt works for me, especially since I usually need to read poems more than once, or read and think, repeat, repeat-:)
DeleteJudy, you've inspired me to my Oxford Anthology of Verse (an old school book off the shelf) and start to read it in the same way. Its earliest poetry is Medieval (Li Po, Dante) and the latest is Leonard Cohen. Seeing as this book was published in 1964, that's pretty up-to-date!
ReplyDeleteSo I'll start with Cohen tonight. Thanks so much!
Debbie, my pleasure! Enjoy.
DeleteWere her poems long or short? Everyday experiences or allegorical? Inner city struggles perhaps. I will check them out.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting how her style changed over the years. She started out with what I guess would be called traditional poetry but then loosened up with some free verse, etc. Most of the poems are short or have sections. She definitely takes on everyday experiences for women, blacks, lower income folks, war, etc. When she uses allegories they were not hard for me to understand though I was aware that I was reading poems about a different life than I have.
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