|
Activities | Books to Buy Write Acrostic PoemsGWENDOLYN BROOKS Ever since she was a little girl growing up in Chicago, Gwendolyn Brooks wrote about the importance of the everyday lives of people around her. In The Bean Eaters, she wrote about an elderly couple, describing their meals, their clothes, and their memories. Gwendolyn wrote about the tough teens hanging out in gangs in her neighborhood in the poem “We Real Cool.” As a shy girl, Gwendolyn’s parents encouraged her to feel good about herself and what she liked to do. She began writing when she was seven years old. At 13, her first poem “Eventide” was published in a well-known magazine, American Childhood. As a teenager, she was able to meet famous poets James Weldon Johnson and Langston Hughes. They encouraged her to continue writing. She did, and had many poems published each week in an African-American newspaper, the Chicago Defender. After graduating from Wilson Junior College, Gwendolyn held various jobs. During this time, she met poet Henry Blakely. They married and had two children. Even as Gwendolyn studied books and poetry written both many years ago and in her own lifetime, she chose to write about the importance of ordinary people whom she saw in the South Side of Chicago. She wrote about these people in her first book of poetry, which was published in 1945, A Street in Bronzeville. Gwendolyn Brooks was the first African American to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize. She received the award in 1950 for Annie Allen, a collection of poems about a young African-American girl growing up in America. In 1968, she was named Poet Laureate of Illinois. With this honor, she was considered the best poet in the state. Her writing began to change, however. She began writing poems and stories specifically for African Americans to read and feel good about who they were. Gwendolyn became involved in her community. She taught classes to young people and encouraged them to write about the good in themselves and their lives. She read her poetry aloud to audiences and held writing contests, often awarding prizes with her own money. She was active until her death, encouraging people to write poetry to express their feelings. Quote: “Goodness begins simply with the fact of life itself.” -Gwendolyn Brooks Important Highlights • 1917- Birth • 1936- Graduated from Wilson Junior College • 1945- Published her first volume of poetry, A Street in Bronzeville • 1950- Won the Pulitzer Prize for her second volume of poetry, Annie Allen • 1960- Published a collection of poetry, The Bean Eaters • 1968- Published In the Mecca, poems written in her new style • 1968- Named Poet Laureate of Illinois • 1995- Received the National Medal of Arts • 1998- Inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame • 2000- Death WRITE ACROSTIC POEMS Gwendolyn Brooks wrote about people she knew who were important to her. She wrote poems about the people who lived in her neighborhood. Using a style of poem called an acrostic, you can write about the people you know, too. MATERIALS Lined paper Pen or pencil Dictionary An acrostic is a poem that uses one word written vertically, top to bottom, on a piece of paper. Each letter in the word starts the first word in the line of the poem. Write an acrostic poem about yourself. Use the letters of your name to describe your strengths and the things you like about yourself. Start your poem by writing your name in a vertical line, putting the first letter of your name at the top of the paper. Using each letter in your name, start a word or sentence on each new line that describes your strengths or things you like about yourself. A dictionary can help give you ideas for words that begin with different letters. You can also make an acrostic about someone you know who is important to you. Using each letter of this person’s name, start a word or sentence that describes him or her or tells about this person’s strengths, personality, hobbies, and interests. Here is a sample acrostic: Grandma G ardening R eads A rtist N ice D ancer M emories A ncestor Try writing an interesting type of acrostic about the people in your neighborhood. Use the numbers in your street address to write this fun variation of an acrostic. First write the numbers from your street address vertically, top to bottom, on a piece of paper as shown. Now put the number of words on each line of your poem that corresponds to each number in your address. Here is another sample: 17432 Oaks Avenue 1 Neighbors 7 From Mexico, Japan, Africa, Canada, India, Europe 4 We are all Americans 3 On my street 2 Living together |