@ablackmanreading
Jerid P. Woods, Ph.D.A Poem for You Episode 4. Today’s offering is Gwendolyn Brooks (1969) by Haki R. Madhubuti, a poem of witness, gratitude, and Black literary inheritance. Written for Gwendolyn Brooks, this poem reminds us that poets do not simply write alone—they make paths, open doors, and leave lamps lit for those who come after. This piece appears in From Totems to Hip-Hop, edited by Ishmael Reed is an essential anthology mapping the radical, beautiful, complicated poetry of the Americas across the 20th century. “Gwendolyn Brooks” blends free verse with rhythmic, incantatory delivery, characteristic of late-1960s performance poetry. The work fuses admiration with exhortation: Brooks is portrayed as a truth-teller who wields language to affirm Black identity, dignity, and community. Its diction draws from both jazz phrasing and urban vernacular, emphasizing cultural pride and artistic responsibility. 📖 You can purchase From Totems to Hip-Hop at Baldwin & Co. or online at baldwinandcobooks.com. Sit with the poem. Listen for the lineage. Say thank you to the ones who made room. A Poem for You. #BlackCreators #booktok #fyp #poetry #blackhistory
On the profile · Jan 31, 2026