Gwendolyn Brooks
Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks was one of America's most celebrated and groundbreaking literary figures.
Born in 1917, she became the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize, awarded for her poetry collection Annie Allen in 1950.
She served as Illinois Poet Laureate for over thirty years and was the first Black woman appointed as Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress.
A National Women's Hall of Fame inductee and recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts lifetime achievement award, Brooks was deeply rooted in Chicago's Bronzeville community.
Maud Martha, published in 1953, remains her only novel.
