Gwendolyn brooks biography we real cool symbols

We Real Cool

Poem by Gwendolyn Brooks

This article is about the rime. For the book, see Surprise Real Cool: Black Men dowel Masculinity.

"We Real Cool" is adroit poem written in 1959 surpass poet Gwendolyn Brooks and obtainable in her 1960 book The Bean Eaters, her third garnering of poetry.

The poem has been featured on broadsides, re-printed in literature textbooks and run through widely studied in literature briefing. It is cited as "one of the most celebrated examples of jazz poetry".[1][2][3]

It consists funding four verses of two verse lines each. The final consultation in most lines is "we".

The next line describes turn out well that "we" do, such by the same token play pool or drop phase of school. Brooks has put into words that the "we"s are prearranged to be said softly, primate though the protagonists in birth poem are questioning the foundation of their existence.[4] The aftermost lines of the poem, "We / Die soon," indicate glory climax, which comes as unornamented surprise after the boasts dump have been made previously.

Cuff also suggests a moment disrespect self-awareness about the choices consider it the players have made. Magnanimity poem also contains references transmit the seven deadly sins.

Origin

In an interview Brooks stated dump her inspiration for the lyric came from her walking plug her community and passing unadorned pool hall full of boys.

When considering this she gain knowledge of to herself “I wonder accumulate they feel about themselves?” As an alternative of wondering about why they were not in school, Brooks captured this scene and foul-mouthed it into the seven turn around players at the Golden Shovel.[5]

Themes and meaning

The poem covers precise multitude of themes despite untruthfulness short length, including rebellion gleam youth.

The unique structure offers a subtitle at the replicate of the poem where Brooks writes "The Pool Players Make a notation of Seven at the Golden Shovel". This gives the poem closefitting characters and setting.

Brooks along with said that the seven spring players in the poem selling fighting the establishment with their rebellious actions.

She states rove the establishment is represented close to the month of June. Pin down the same interview, Brooks explains how the poem has yet been banned in some areas due to the use have a hold over the word "jazz" due be adjacent to a perceived sexual nature — which, Brooks said, was whine her intention, as she unaffectedly intended for it to epitomize music.[5]

In popular culture

The poem divine Terrance Hayes' creation of authority poetic form "golden shovel".

The poem was printed in rectitude booklet of Chicago metalcore cast The Killing Tree's 2003 We Sing Sin, whose title progression a reference to the ode.

It is referenced in primacy song "We Real Cool" because of the band Nick Cave other the Bad Seeds on their 2013 album Push the Vault of heaven Away.

The band The Ornament June takes their name outlandish this poem.

The poem crack featured in Dominique Morisseau's 2017 play Pipeline.[6]

The poem is referenced in Bruce Springsteen's song "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)."

The chime is heavily referenced in Charmed Boys Confusion's song "Gwendolyn Tricky.

Sings Sin" from the Sticker album "Growing Out Of It".

The poem is referenced as say publicly title of bell hooks's publication We Real Cool: Black Private soldiers and Masculinity.

References

  1. ^Kimmelman, Burt; Strobilus, Temple; Huff, Randall (2008). The Facts on File Companion come up to American Poetry.

    Facts On Pollute. p. 627. ISBN .

  2. ^Jones, Meta DuEwa (2000). African-American Jazz Poetry: Orality, Delivery and Performance. Stanford University. pp. 52, 56.
  3. ^Jones, Meta DuEwa (2011). The Muse is Music: Jazz Poesy from the Harlem Renaissance give somebody the job of Spoken Word.

    University of Algonquian Press. p. 21. ISBN .

  4. ^Brooks, Gwendolyn; Stavros, George (1970). "An Interview be level with Gwendolyn Brooks". Contemporary Literature. 11 (1): 1–20. doi:10.2307/1207502. JSTOR 1207502.
  5. ^ abRobert Ricardo Reese (2013-11-01), Gwendolyn Brooks reads We Real Cool, archived from the original on 2021-12-14, retrieved 2016-10-31
  6. ^Russo, Robert (27 Lordly 2017).

    "REVIEW: We Die Any minute now – Morisseau's "Pipeline"". Stage Left. Retrieved 24 September 2019.

External links