4.13.2010

Wednesday, April 13, 1960: 'We real cool'

"The Bean Eaters," a book of poems by Gwendolyn Brooks, is published. (Ten years earlier, Brooks had been the first black author to win a Pulitzer Prize, for her book "Annie Allen.") One of the poems, "We Real Cool," would become a staple of literature textbooks.

We Real Cool

The pool players.
Seven at the Golden Shovel.

We real cool. We
Left school. We

Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We

Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We

Jazz June. We
Die soon.

* Brooks talks about and reads poem: @
* Short analyses: @
* "The Bean Eaters" (from same book): @
* "The Lovers of the Poor" (from same book): @
* More poems and short biography: @


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