University of Chicago to honor poet Gwendolyn Brooks' legacy
Posted February 25, 2017 6:00 am
CHICAGO (AP) - The University of Chicago is honoring the legacy of poet Gwendolyn Brooks with events including a major gathering of writers, musicians and scholars.
The scholarly conference and celebration will honor the 100th anniversary of Brooks' birth. It's being held April 6 to 8 and will include a special appearance by her daughter, Nora Brooks Blakely.
Brooks was born in Kansas but moved to Chicago as a child. She published her first poem at age 13 and later became the first African American poet to win the Pulitzer Prize.
John Wilkinson is chair of creative writing and the Committee on Poetics. He says the events will recognize Brooks as "one of the great poets of the 20th century" and honor her "self-identification as a black poet."
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