postwar
Postwar Emerging Issues There was many concerning issues in the postwar era. The poets and short story writers voiced the views and thoughts in this way. Gwendolyn Brooks and James Brooks are to examples of just that. Brooks was one to give the reader a story, however, they needed to dig into her life to discover the true meaning. James Brooks did the same through his short stories.
In 1950, Gwendolyn Brooks, who lived most of her life in Chicago, Illinois, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in part because of her social concerns. Brooks herself said that she attempted to "feature people and their concerns--their troubles as well as their joys." It is interesting how Ms. Brooks employs various forms for her poems. While her sonnets have a tightly controlled structure and rhyme scheme, other poems are in free verse, which allows for variations in line length and rhythm, a form more appropriate for the subjects of these poems. Likewise, her rhyming is at times exact, at times partial in order to convey meaning.
A poem that is not from our readings; "The Sonnet Ballad" is one that illustrates Brooks portrayal of people's troubles. In this sonnet, a young woman is faced with being alone and the worry of losing her man to war. It is with a bitter tone that this young woman bemoans her lover's having gone off to war and courted death rather than her:
He won't be coming back here anymore...
I knew...
That my sweet love would have to be untrue, would have to court
Coquettish death, who impudent and strange
Possessive arms and beauty [of a sort]
Can make a hard man hesitate--and change. (poemhunter.com)
"We Real Cool” is a highly ironic poem that criticizes the arrogant attitude of the juvenile delinquents in her urban area. This poem specifically refers to the "Blackstone Rangers," a gang from Blackstone Street in the inner city of Chicago. In this short verse, Brooks is alluding to the social problems of the inner city; although
In 1950, Gwendolyn Brooks, who lived most of her life in Chicago, Illinois, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in part because of her social concerns. Brooks herself said that she attempted to "feature people and their concerns--their troubles as well as their joys." It is interesting how Ms. Brooks employs various forms for her poems. While her sonnets have a tightly controlled structure and rhyme scheme, other poems are in free verse, which allows for variations in line length and rhythm, a form more appropriate for the subjects of these poems. Likewise, her rhyming is at times exact, at times partial in order to convey meaning.
A poem that is not from our readings; "The Sonnet Ballad" is one that illustrates Brooks portrayal of people's troubles. In this sonnet, a young woman is faced with being alone and the worry of losing her man to war. It is with a bitter tone that this young woman bemoans her lover's having gone off to war and courted death rather than her:
He won't be coming back here anymore...
I knew...
That my sweet love would have to be untrue, would have to court
Coquettish death, who impudent and strange
Possessive arms and beauty [of a sort]
Can make a hard man hesitate--and change. (poemhunter.com)
"We Real Cool” is a highly ironic poem that criticizes the arrogant attitude of the juvenile delinquents in her urban area. This poem specifically refers to the "Blackstone Rangers," a gang from Blackstone Street in the inner city of Chicago. In this short verse, Brooks is alluding to the social problems of the inner city; although