Gwendolyn Brooks Collection, 1909-2003 | Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Title: Gwendolyn Brooks Collection, 1909-2003

Predominant Dates:bulk 1960-2000

ID: 01/01/MSS00086

Primary Creator: Brooks, Gwendolyn (1917-2000)

Extent: 200.0 Linear Feet

Date Acquired: 09/19/2013

Subjects: Poets, American - 20th century

Languages: English

Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000) was an American poet and educator born in Topeka, Kansas and raised on the South Side of Chicago. In 1950, Brooks was the first Black person to win a Pulitzer Prize in any category, receiving the award in Poetry for Annie Allen (1949). Brooks was a beloved mentor to many poets and artists from the Black Arts movement, and started the Illinois Poet Laureate Awards to encourage poetry writing amongst young people. During her life, Brooks received numerous accolades for her work, including her appointment as Poet Laureate of Illinois in 1968 and Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress (now the Poet Laureate of the United States) in 1985.

This collection contains materials that were collected by Gwendolyn Brooks throughout her life and professional career. Formats include correspondence; poetry and prose drafts; interview transcripts; notebooks and loose notes and jottings; photos and scrapbooks; drawings; calendars and diet books; public engagements files and teaching materials; awards, honorary degrees, and doctoral hoods; newspapers and news clippings; A/V media; realia; and ephemera. The collection also contains volumes, pamphlets, and periodicals from Brooks's personal library, as well as related materials collected by RBML ("Supplementary Material").

This record does not contain collection content for the first series of the Gwendolyn Brooks Collection. Series 1, which contains alphabetical correspondence and correspondence files, was separated from the rest of the collection in an attempt to improve load times. Click here to view series 1 (temporarily MS00086a).

Poet Gwendolyn Brooks was born to parents David Anderson and Keziah Wims Brooks on June 7, 1917 in Topeka, Kansas. A few weeks later, her family moved to Chicago where she would live for the rest of her life. Brooks began writing at an early age and was encouraged by her mother saying, "You are going to be the lady Paul Laurence Dunbar." When she was 13, her poem "Evening" was published in the children's magazine American Childhood [1]. By the time she graduated high school, Brooks had published over one hundred poems in the "Lights and Shadows" poetry column of the Chicago Defender [2]. After high school, Brooks graduated from a two-year program at Wilson Junior College [3]. In 1939, she married Henry Blakely, Jr. whom she met after joining the Chicago NAACP Youth Council. They soon had their first child, Henry III, and later their daughter, Nora.

Early in her career, Brooks was encouraged by poet James Weldon Johnson and Harlem Renaissance writers Langston Hughes and Richard Wright [4]. In her work, Brooks drew inspiration from her life and surroundings in Chicago. Her first book of poetry, A Street in Bronzeville (1945), received praise for its authentic portraits of the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago. Her second collection of poems, Annie Allen (1949), chronicles the life of a young Black Bronzeville girl. It was for this book that Brooks won the 1950 Pulitzer Prize for poetry, making her the first Black person to win the award in any category [5].

In the 1960s, Brooks work became more overtly political as she became close with activists and writers involved in the Black Arts Movement, a group of artists whose work reflected the cultural side of the growing Black Power movement [6]. She became especially close with Haki Madhubuti, to whom she became both a mentor and a mother figure. Soon Brooks began working exclusively with Black publishers, especially Broadside Press, founded by her close friend Dudley Randall, and Third World Press, founded by Madhubuti. In the 1980s, Brooks also established her own imprint called The David Company.

Throughout her long career, Brooks published more than twenty books of poetry, including The Bean Eaters (1960), Selected Poems (1963), In the Mecca (1968), Riot (1969), Family Pictures (1970), Aloneness (1971), Beckonings (1975), To Disembark (1981), Black Love (1982), The Near-Johannesburg Boy and Other Poems (1986), Blacks (1987), Gottschalk and the Grand Tarantelle (1988), Winnie (1988), and Children Coming Home (1991). She also published one novel, Maud Martha (1953), as well as children's literature such as Bronzeville Boys and Girls (1956) and The Tiger Who Wore White Gloves (1974). Brooks also published two autobiographies, Report from Part One (1972), and Report from Part Two (1995).

In addition to her writing, Brooks taught poetry and creative writing at numerous colleges and universities. In 1990, the Gwendolyn Brooks Center for Black Literature and Creative Writing was founded at Chicago State University, where Brooks served as distinguished professor and writer-in-residence [7]. Brooks influenced generations of writers, not only with her words, but with her actions. For most of the year, she traveled the country to perform her poetry for children of all ages as well as at universities, public libraries, hospitals, and prisons. As she especially encouraged young poets, Brooks sponsored youth poetry awards for over thirty years. Renowned for her generosity, Brooks dedicated her life to promoting the value of poetry and inspiring young writers.

Brooks was the recipient of more than seventy-five honorary doctorates and countless accolades [8]. In 1968, she was appointed Poet Laureate of Illinois, a position which she held until her death in 2000 [9]. In 1985, Brooks was selected for an honorary one-year term as the Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress [10]. She received lifetime achievement awards from both the National Endowment for the Arts in 1989 and the National Book Foundation in 1994. Brooks then received the National Endowment for the Humanities' highest honor when she was named the 1994 Jefferson Lecturer. The next year, Brooks received the National Medal of Arts.

Today, Gwendolyn Brooks' legacy persists as one of the most significant poets of the twentieth century, because of both her contribution to American literature and her kindness and generosity, especially toward young poets and authors of color.

Poets, American - 20th century

Repository: Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Acquisition Source: Nora Brooks Blakely

Related Materials:

Celebrating Brooks @ 100

Gwendolyn Brooks Supplementary Materials

Gwendolyn Brooks Collection (Sc MG 271) | New York Public Library

Gwendolyn Brooks Papers (BANC MSS 2001/83 z) | University of California, Berkeley

Dudley Randall Papers (2017014 Aa 2) | University of Michigan

Sterling Plumpp Collection (MUM00368) | University of Mississippi

Useni Eugene Perkins Papers (2014/01) | Chicago Public Library

Finding Aid Revision History: This finding aid is experiencing ongoing revision, beginning in June 2023.

Box and Folder Listing

Series 17: LPs

Box 567

Folder 1: Neapolitan Trio (Victor), 1912(?)

Includes “Schubert’s Serenade” by Franz Schubert (A) and “Serenade” by A.E. Titl (B).

Folder 2: Charles Schuetze (Columbia), 1909(?)

Includes “Song without Words” (A) and “Love’s Old Sweet Song” (B) by Charles Schuetze.

Folder 3: Nightingale of Herr Reich, Bremen (Victor), undated

Includes “Song of a Nightingale” (A).

Folder 4: Columbia Quintette / Grace Kerns (Columbia), 1909(?)

Includes “The Rosary” by Ethelbert Nevin (A) and “The Last Rose of Summer” by Old Irish Air (B).

Folder 5: Nathan Glantz (Gennett), 1923

Includes “Valse La La” (A) and “Gladioli” (B).

Folder 6: Carpenter and Ingram (Gennett), undated

Includes “London Bridge Is Falling Down (On the Isle of Childhood Dreams)” by Harry I. Robinson and Louis Robinson (A) and “In Fair Hawaiia” by Melba Wirth (B).

Folder 7: Prince’s Orchestra (Columbia), 1915

Includes “Danse Macabre” by Camille Saint-Saëns (A) and “Dance of the Goblins” by William Loraine and Robert Recker (B).

Folder 8: Foy Willing (Varsity), undated

Includes “I Couldn’t Believe It Was True” (A) and “Sometimes” (B).

Folder 9: Vienna Quartette / Victor Sorlin (Victor), 1913(?)

Includes “Serenade” by Gabriel Pierné (A) and “Cradle Song” by Miska Hauser (B).

Folder 10: Conway’s Band (Okeh), undated

Includes “Coppélia Ballet No. 2 (Waltz of the Hours)” (A) and “Coppélia Ballet No. 7 (Czardas)” (B) by Léo Delibes.

Folder 11: Natzy and His Biltmore Orchestra (Gennett), 1921

Includes “Moonlight” by Con Conrad (A) and “Sunshine” by George A. Little, Jack Stanley, and Otto Motzan (B).

Folder 12: Criterion Quartette (Gennett), 1921

Includes “In the Sweet Bye and Bye” by Joseph P. Webster and Sanford Fillmore Bennett (A) and “The Church in the Wildwood” by William Pitts (B).

Folder 13: Jerry Wald and His Orchestra (Decca), 1944

Includes “Poinciana (Song of the Tree)” by Nat Simon and Buddy Bernier (A) and “Mississippi Dream Boat” by Sammy Fain, Lew Brown, and Ralph Freed (B).

Folder 14: Taylor Trio (Gennett), 1922

Includes “The Herd Girl’s Dream” by August Labitzky (A) and “Sweet Genevieve” by George Cooper and Henry Tucker (B).

Folder 15: Sergei Rachmaninoff (RCA Victor), 1928(?)

Includes “Prelude in C Sharp Minor (Op. 3, No. 2)” (A) and “Spinning Song (Song Without Words, No. 34” by Felix Mendelssohn (B).

Folder 16: Arthur Gramm (Columbia), 1909(?)

Includes “Prelude to the Deluge” by Camille Saint-Saëns (A) and “Spanish Dance (Spanischer Tanz)” by Fabian Rehfeld.

Folder 17: Learn-A-Language Record Course (Crown Publishers), 1955(?)

Record 1. Includes French lessons 1-5 (A) and 6-10 (B).

Folder 18: Learn-A-Language Record Course (Crown Publishers), 1955(?)

Record 2. Includes French lessons 11-15 (A) and 16-20 (B).

Folder 19: Learn-A-Language Record Course (Crown Publishers), 1955(?)

Record 3. Includes French lessons 21-25 (A) and 26-30 (B).

Folder 20: Learn-A-Language Record Course (Crown Publishers), 1955(?)

Record 4. Includes French lessons 31-35 (A) and 36-40 (B).

Box 568

Folder 21: Kaufman Brothers / Arthur Fields (Gennett), 1922

Includes “Mister Gallagher and Mister Shean” by Ed Gallagher and Al Shean (A) and “All Over Nothing At All” by J. Keirn Brennan, James S. Rule, and Paul Cunningham (B).

Folder 22: Merle Tillotson / Inez Barbour (Columbia), 1914

Includes “Good Bye Sweet Day” by Kate Vannah (A) and “Lullaby, from Erminie” by Edward Jakobowski (B).

Folder 23: “Sweet Hawaiian Moonlight” (A) / “Meet Me in the Moonlight” (B), undated

Handwritten label on side A; no label on side B.

Folder 24: The Four Vagabonds (Bluebird), 1943

Includes “Rose Ann of Charing Cross” by Kermit Goell and Mabel Wayne (A) and “Ten Little Soldiers (On a Ten Day Leave)” by Abner Silver, Kay Werner, and Sue Werner (B).

Folder 25: Buck Basseys Royal Yorkers (SBW), undated

Includes “In the Good Old Summer Time” by Ren Shields and George Evans (A) and “Summer Morning” by Fred Bruland (B).

Folder 26: Victor Opera Trio (Victor), 1912(?)

Includes “Faust – Trio from “Prison Scene” (Act V)” by Charles Francois Gounod (A).

Folder 27: Joseph Moskowitz (Victor), 1916

Includes “Hungarian Dance, No. 5” by Johannes Brahms (A) and “Hungarian Czardas” (B).

Folder 28: Lieut. Matt’s Orchestra (Gennett), 1922

Includes “Say Persianna Say (Oriental Fox Trot)” by Willy White (A) and “Swanee River Moon (Waltz)” by H. Pitman Clark (B).

Folder 29: Florence Hinkle (Victor), 1912

Includes “From the Land of the Sky Blue Water” from American Indian Songs by Nelle Richmond Eberhart and Charles Wakefield Cadman (A).

Folder 30: Scipione Guidi (Gennett), 1922

Includes “Schon Rosmarin” (A) and “Liebesfreud” (B) by Fritz Kreisler.

Box 569

Item 31: Mahalia Jackson, What the World Needs Now (Columbia), 1969

Includes original sleeve.

Item 32: Diana Ross and The Supremes with The Temptations, (The Original Soundtrack from) TCB (Motown), 1968

Includes original jacket.

Item 33: Bing Crosby, Crosby Classics (Harmony Records. Columbia), 1971

Includes original jacket.

Item 34: Ed Brown and Martin Plissner, John Fitzgerald Kennedy: A Memorial Album (Premier), 1963

Includes original jacket and sleeve.

Folder 35: Michael Gielen / Hans Swarowsky (Classic Platten Club), undated

Music Treasures of the World series. Includes “Symphony No. 41 in C Major, K. 551 (The “Jupiter”)” by Mozart (A) and “Symphony No. 4 in A Major, Op. 90 (The “Italian”)” by Mendelssohn (B).

Folder 36: State Orchestra of the U.S.S.R. (Classic Platten Club), undated

Music Treasures of the World series. Includes “Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 53” by Dvorak (A) and “Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major” by Liszt (B).

Folder 37: American Recording Society Orchestra / The Vienna Festival Orchestra (Classic Platten Club), undated

Music Treasures of the World series. Includes “Symphonic Suite” by Richard Rodgers (A) and “Bouffes Parisiens” by Richard Mohaupt (B).

Folder 38: Music Treasures Philharmonic Symphony (Classic Platten Club), undated

Music Treasures of the World series. Includes “Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67” by Beethoven (A) and “Symphony No. 8 in B Minor (The “Unfinished”)” by Schubert (B).

Folder 38a: Music Treasures of the World series sleeve, undated

Folder 39: Reference Recording Instantaneous (NBC), 1957

Includes “Carnival of Books Part 1” (A) and “Carnival of Books Part 3” (B).

Folder 40: Reference Recording Instantaneous (NBC), 1957

Includes “Carnival of Books Part 2” (A).

Folder 41-43: Theme from Love Story and 30 More Great Hits (Columbia House), undated

Includes three records in original box set. Each record has five songs on each side.

Folder 44: Linton Kwesi Johnson, Forces of Victory (Island), 1979(?)

Includes original jacket and sleeve.

Folder 45: Linton Kwesi Johnson, Bass Culture (Island), 1980(?)

Includes original jacket and sleeve.

Folder 45a: “Linton Kwesi Johnson” mailer, 1982

Folder 46: Michael Smith, “Mi C-YaăN beLiēVe iT” (Island), 1982(?)

Includes original jacket and sleeve.

Folder 47-48: Delta Sigma Theta Members ft. Aretha Franklin and Roscoe Lee Browne, Roses & Revolutions (D.S.T. Telecommunications, Inc.), 1975

Two-record set. Includes original jacket and sleeves.

Folder 49-50: Gwendolyn Brooks Reading Her Poetry, 1968

Two copies. Each includes original jacket and sleeve.

Folder 51: Billy Taylor, Jazz Alive (Monmouth/Evergreen), 1977

Includes original jacket and sleeves. Artist’s inscription on the back of the jacket.

Folder 52-53: Diana Ross and the Supremes, Greatest Hits (Motown), 1967(?)

Two-record set. Includes original jacket.