March is Women’s History Month. TKAAM has chosen to celebrate American poet, author, teacher, and Pulitzer Prize for Poetry winner, Gwendolyn Brooks.

 

Born in Topeka, KS in 1917, Brooks’ work focused on personal celebrations and the struggles of ordinary people within her community. A commemorative postage stamp was issued by USPS in 2012.

 

Her writing began early when her first poem was published in American Childhood at the age of 13. When she graduated high school, she was already a regular contributor to The Chicago Defender. Brooks graduated from Wilson Junior College (now Kennedy-King College) in 1936. She often said, “I am not a scholar, I’m just a writer who loves to write and will always write.”