Students Revisit Pulitzer Prize-Winning Poet

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AIKEN, SC (04/03/2018) As part of its Live Literature Series, the USC Aiken Library Committee hosted "100 Years of Gwendolyn Brooks," a special event focused on Brooks's career and influence in the past 100 years.

Even though Brooks passed away in 2000, she remains one of the most highly regarded, highly influential and widely read poets of 20th-century American poetry. The event came at the close of Women's History Month, a fitting time considering the impact Brooks has had on generations of female writers.

Many of Brooks's works display a political consciousness and deal with issues of racial inequality during the Civil Rights Era. She was a bold poet who wrote about these difficulties in a way audiences, especially those outside of the African-American community, had never encountered before.

"Brooks wrote about bitterness, yet she was not bitter or angry herself," said Dr. Roy Seeger, a professor in the USC Aiken English Department.

Because of this incredible artful mediation, Brooks won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1950, making her the first African-American to do so.

Students who attended the event were eager to learn more about Brooks' incredible literary impact, including freshman psychology major Kayla Hamilton.

"This event is important because it educates students and spreads awareness about important issues that we don't talk about enough. This was a really cool discussion," said Hamilton.

Shawn Williams, a junior psychology major, was also among the students in attendance.

"This is important to me because the literature aspect informs the racial and social issues of Brooks's time. Being able to hear about the experiences of such an incredible African-American woman firsthand through her poetry is highly educational," said Williams.

"And I'm a poet myself, so I find her work and her legacy inspiring."

Seeger spent much of the event reading Brooks's poetry to students, including her most famous piece "We Real Cool," and describing how her work was a radical form of self-expression and community representation at this time.

"Brooks's poetry often revolves around topics that aren't pretty to talk about, such as violence and poverty and racial inequality, but these issues were important to discuss, and they still are today," he said.

Seeger and others on campus view the life and work of Brooks almost as a call to action.

"I think what poetry, especially poetry like this, does is that it forces us to remember the past. It also inspires young people to act and react."

Library Committee Chair Dr. Alexandra Roach feels the same way, which is why her committee decided to host this event.

"Gwendolyn Brooks's work is relevant - if not even more relevant - than it was in the 1950s and 1960s. We are still living in the issues Brooks described and have a long way to go," Roach said.

"Looking to the wisdom of Gwendolyn Brooks and others can help us make it through this next stage of Civil Rights issues."

The Library Committee will continue their theme of speaking up and speaking out during the Live Literature series.

First, they will do so through Storytelling with Shannon Cason on April 5 at 7 p.m., in a coffee-house setting in the Learning Commons area of the Gregg-Graniteville Library. The theme is "Don't Judge Me." Cason will talk about how to overcome a fear of judgement as an artist, and then the floor will be opened for an open-mic segment. During this time, participants may share 3-5 minutes of a story, poetry, or song they've written.

Live Literature events will wrap up with Brutally Honest Storytelling featuring Shannon Cason again on April 6 at 4 p.m., in the Etherredge Center.

These events are free and open to the public.