Gwendolyn Brooks On June 7, 1917, Keziah Corine Wims and David Anderson Brooks gave birth to one of the most gifted African-American poets of the 20th century. They named her Gwendolyn Brooks. Although she was born in Topeka, Kansas, Brooks grew up in Chicago where her mother worked as a schoolteacher and her father worked as a janitor. He quit going to school for financial reasons and while quitting went away his dream of becoming a doctor. …showed first 75 words of 1529 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1529 total…life and career came from her publisher, Haki Madhubuti, when he said, “She is undoubtedly one of the top 100 writers in the world. She has been a chronicler of black life, specifically black life on the South Side of Chicago. She has become almost a legend in her own time.” Bibliography Bibliography Brooks, Gwendolyn. Annie Allen. New York. Harper & Brothers: 1945. Brooks, Gwendolyn. Selected Poems. New York. Harper & Row Publishers: 1944. Miller, James. “Brooks, Gwendolyn.” Encarta: 1998. Microsoft.