Summary: <strong>Gwendolyn Brooks</strong>, in full <strong>Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks</strong>, (born June 7, 1917, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Topeka" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Topeka</a>, Kan., U.S.—died Dec. 3, 2000, Chicago, Ill.), American poet whose works deal with the everyday life of urban blacks. She was the first <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/African-American" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">African American</a> poet to win the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pulitzer-Prize" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pulitzer Prize</a> (1950), and in 1968 she was named the poet laureate of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Illinois-state" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Illinois</a>. <em>--Britannica.com </em><br><hr><p style="color:grey;font-size:0.75em;"> See <a style="color:grey;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://acast.com/privacy">acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>
