A Street in Bronzeville by Gwendolyn Brooks
"A Street in Bronzeville" is the inaugural poetry collection by Gwendolyn Brooks, which offers a poignant exploration of the experiences of urban African Americans in the early to mid-20th century. Through a series of twelve poems, Brooks vividly depicts the struggles and resilience of individuals living in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago. The collection introduces unforgettable characters, such as the long-married couple whose communication has dwindled under the weight of their circumstances and Pearl May Lee, who faces the unjust accusations against her partner.
Brooks's work addresses themes of alienation, aspiration, and the harsh realities of life in a crowded urban environment, often contrasting moments of humor with profound sadness. Notable figures in her poems include Mame, a blues singer navigating a challenging existence, and Moe Belle Jackson, who endures domestic violence. The collection culminates in "Gay Chaps at the Bar," which honors soldiers returning from war, emphasizing their individuality amid the trauma of conflict.
Brooks employs innovative poetic forms, including parodic sonnets and slant rhyme, to reflect the complex realities of life in Bronzeville, suggesting that the experiences of its residents often diverge from traditional narratives. Overall, "A Street in Bronzeville" serves as a powerful commentary on racial and social issues, encapsulating the beauty and struggles of its community with both empathy and critique.
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A Street in Bronzeville by Gwendolyn Brooks
First published: 1945
The Work
A Street in Bronzeville, Gwendolyn Brooks’s first poetry collection, poignantly reflects the reality of oppression in the lives of urban blacks. The poems portraying ordinary yet unforgettable individuals—from the flamboyant Satin Legs Smith to the sad hunchback girl who yearns for a pain-free life—launched Brooks’s successful career. The poetic walk through Bronzeville begins with “the old-marrieds,” whose longtime exposure to crowded conditions has eliminated loving communication from their lives.
The long-married couple is followed closely by poems exploring how life in a “kitchenette building” thwarts aspirations. Brooks wonders how dreams can endure in a fight with fried potatoes and garbage ripening in the hall. With honesty and love she portrays resilient characters: Pearl May Lee, whose man has been falsely accused of raping a white woman; Mame, the queen of the blues, who has no family and endures the slaps and pinches of rude men in the club where she sings; Moe Belle Jackson whose husband “whipped her good last night”; and poor baby Percy, who was burned to death by his brother Brucie. Alongside this unblinking look at life’s pain, Brooks now and then gently conveys humorous moments, such as the woman at the hairdresser’s who wants an upsweep to “show them girls,” and the domestic worker who thinks her employer is a fool.
Alienation in city life is a theme Brooks explores unflinchingly. Matthew Cole seems to be a pleasant man, but in the dirtiness of his room, with fat roaches strolling up the wall, he never smiles. Maud, in the poem “Sadie and Maud,” tries to escape Bronzeville by going to college, but finds herself living alone, a thin brown mouse in an old house.
Composed of twelve poems, the last section of the book, “Gay Chaps at the Bar,” is dedicated to Brooks’s brother, Staff Sergeant Raymond Brooks, and other soldiers who returned from the war trembling and crying. The second poem, “still do I keep my look, my identity” affirms a soldier’s individuality even as he dons a government-issue uniform and goes off to meet death on some distant hill. Each body has its pose, “the old personal art, the look.”
Ultimately, the critique of America plays itself out in a critique of traditional literary form. Brooks parodies the sonnet in content and form. She uses slant rhyme for the entire collection because she thinks life in Bronzeville is “an off-rhyme situation.”
Bibliography
Kent, George E. A Life of Gwendolyn Brooks. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1990.
Melhem, D. H. Gwendolyn Brooks: Poetry and the Heroic Voice. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1987.
Mootry, Maria K., and Gary Smith. A Life Distilled: Gwendolyn Brooks, Her Poetry and Fiction. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1987.