Remembering Gwendolyn Brooks during National Poetry Month

Image Credit: www.visionaryproject.org 

Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks (June 7, 1917 – December 3, 2000) was an American poet and teacher. She was the first African-American woman to win a Pulitzer prize when she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1950 for her second collection, Annie Allen. Brooks was appointed Poet Laureate of Illinois in 1968, a position held until her death. She was appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1985.

In celebration of National Poetry Month, we selected her poem, The Crazy Woman, as our feature for today!

The Crazy Woman

By Gwendolyn Brooks

I shall not sing a May song. 

A May song should be gay. 

I'll wait until November 

And sing a song of gray. 

I'll wait until November 

That is the time for me. 

I'll go out in the frosty dark 

And sing most terribly. 

And all the little people 

Will stare at me and say, 

"That is the Crazy Woman 

Who would not sing in May."