“Art
hurts. Art urges voyages –
and
it is easier to stay at home." — African-American poet Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000),
“The Chicago Picasso," from In the Mecca (1968)
Gwendolyn Brooks—born
100 years ago today in Topeka, Kansas—became more associated with Chicago,
where her family moved when she was a child. In 1950, she became the first
African-American to win the Pulitzer Prize with her poetry collection Annie Allen. She also became the first
African-American woman to serve as poetry consultant to the Library of Congress.
