Gwendolyn Brooks: The First African American Literature

During the 1900’s, society limited the rights of African Americans. Gwendolyn Brooks was a writer who experienced discrimination from the white population, and even African Americans who were fairer in complexion. She originally wrote about the oppression of African Americans, and their day-to-day struggles. Later on, she expanded her writings to include the struggles of African Americans everywhere. By the end of her life, she inspired thousands of young writers to write about things they’re passionate about. The impact Gwendolyn Brooks has on my life is incomparable to any other important figure I've studied. It's the steps that she took that made her a global leader and will impact my development as a global leader.

     Gwendolyn Brooks is the female poet who has been most responsive to changes in the black community, particularly in the community’s vision of itself. The first African American to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize; she was considered one of America’s most distinguished poets well before the age of fifty. Known for her technical artistry, she has succeeded in forms as disparate as Italian terza rima and the blues. She has been praised for her wisdom and insight into the African Experience in America. Her works reflect both the paradises and the hells of the black people of the world. Her writing is objective, but her characters speak for themselves. Although the

    America is a country that was created and settled by immigrants from many different lands. These immigrants came to America in search of the "American Dream" of freedom and a better way of life, and their narratives have been recorded by various authors in both fiction and non-fiction stories. But can the fiction genre be considered a reliable source for studying the immigrant narrative? If American immigrant literature is to be used as a reliable source for understanding the immigrant experience, one needs to justify that this literature properly tracks the history of the immigrant narrative.

The American nation was founded by a myriad of immigrants. Oppressed peasants, religious dissidents and the generally disenfranchised are just a few of those who left an indelible cultural and a political mark on our nation. This is apparent in the literary culture which defines our nation. Starting in the Colonial era leading up to the childhood of the Republic, American literature was primarily composed of religious sermons, folksy poems and old European folk tales given American qualities. However, during the Revolution patriotic essays and pamphlets became popular and after the onset of the 19th century, Transcendentalism developed from the European romanticists. At the beginning of the 19th century, the American literary style was, for

As many Americans with the stubble of the Depression, he felt prey to bout of poverty. With frustration with American capitalism it led him to join the Communist party in 1932. Even though at a difficult stands, Wright still mange to continue on writing and reading books. In 1937, his dreams of becoming a writer came true, as he moved to New York City after going the Federal Writers’ Project. After one year, Wright was able to publish Uncle Tom’s Children, this series of four stories provided a turning point for his career. In 1940, after the publication of Native Son it gave Wright enough fame for him to have the freedom to write. His stories were bestsellers lists and became the first book by an African American writer to be selected by the Book-of-the-Month Club.

The study of American literature has changed a lot in the last twenty years. Teachers and professors have chosen to include more women and people of color as important authors in their curriculum. Some even disparage traditional American Lit courses for being filled with writing by "dead white men." While it is important to seek out and include overlooked American voices, the genius and importance of these five writers can't be lessened by this DWM stereotype.

The impact Raymond Carver had on his students and Jay McInerney led them both to be American writers, and led to the short piece of American Literature that McInerney wrote about his mentor. Perhaps there were no common themes, fictional heroes, or entertaining plotlines; instead, there was a short story that digs at American Literature’s core, the diversity of America. American Literature is what one makes it to be, not everything is American Literature, but every piece of literature has parts that are

It is easy to see that current events and issues of the world around them have had an impact on authors and what they have written from the stories in this time period. The Native American authors wrote stories describing life during and after white man came to America. The African American authors wrote stories describing life during and after slavery. All of these are issues that these authors lived through and experienced through the world around them. Even the fiction in this time period showed connections with events going on in the world. Maria Amparo Ruiz De Burton’s story “The Squatter and the Don,” written in the1880’s, is the story of a Spanish landowner who loses power over his land after the Mexican war and the Land Act. The Land Act was a federal law that prevented land to be bought on credit. The Land Act caused a lot of controversy in the 1800’s.

Us Americans are finally drifting away from European cultures and works as we forge new American novels such as “The Sketch Book” where author Washington Irving has a collection of 34 stories all gathered into one big book. The similarity of these books other than “The Sketch Book” is that they were influenced by the Englishman's poets. Overall, they’re an abundance of poems, novels, and books like the poem “Thanatopsis” in 1817, the “The Last of the Mohicans,”, and “The Deerslayer” made by none other than James Fenimore Cooper.

Momaday’s writing is filled with stories about himself and his people, the Kiowa. He creates settings based on places he’s been in his life and he states Kiowa legends, followed by tribal history, then personal memoir, and finally links these stories with personal memories and stories passed down by his paternal ancestors. Growing up being the only child made him experience his father’s and mother’s traditions. N. Scott Momaday was born of, Natachee

Unique characters, stimulating story plot and surprising endings are some reasons people in literature believe the two novels To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck have maintained their long standing positions in American literature. Readers and critics alike spend much time searching for what distinguishes these novels from others. As plain and old these books may seem, their messages are not. To some, the messages of these novels are about the inspiring, exhilarating, and uplifting history of this country. But in this case, it is the polar opposite. Throughout these novels, racism, sexism, and many other themes are exhibited as the norm for the characters. Readers often forget that these dark aspects of the past are a part of America’s history. Spanning from the start of early civilization, humans have made many mistakes and to stop this vicious cycle, they have to learn from the past by keeping classics like these part of school curriculums.

Gwendolyn Brooks was born in Topeka, Kansas on June 7, 1917, to her parents David and Keziah Brooks, after her birth, the Brooks’ decided to move the family to the South Side of Chicago. Where Brooks grew up and lived the rest of her life there, there Brooks would experience racial prejudice in school. The young poet found comfort in reading and writing, which her parents actively encouraged Brooks’ mother declared to her, that she is going to be a poet.

There was no single “American experience” and therefore no typical American voice in the late 20th century. One of the most significant changes in American literature has been its increasing diversity in voices. Literature began to focus on personal experience when writers’ began to address the emotional effects of wars, and issues of social, political, and cultural relevance. Amy Tan is a unique writer during this time because she wrote stories using her knowledge of all the different English’s she grew up with and how her personal experience with her mother affected her writing.

My name is alesia Johnson. I am a fashion design major in my third year. I have never taken an African-American literature class before, but I have done some reading in the past. I am very eager and excited to learn more about different authors. One of my favorite African American literature authors is Langston Hughes, in his time he was very influential when it came to black life and culture and I enjoy reading his poems.

Throughout the duration of this class, I had the opportunity to encounter a great deal of fantastic examples of literature. The stories were as similar as they were different, each one with a unique premise but somehow also reflective of one another. Perhaps it is be accident, or more likely it is because the stories are a part of the fabric of our nation and the American condition. The stories are of their respective times while also being able to fairly and accurately critique American society, culture, and values. From capitalism to America’s changing thoughts on morality throughout the decades, the writings were introspective to the story of our nation.