Boy Breaking Glass

“The Children of the Poor” by Gwendolyn Brooks (1949)

In this early poem about childhood and poverty, Brooks considers the dilemma of the Black parent who loves their child but also has to prepare that child for the reality of poverty and racism. Brooks foregrounds the voice of the mother in this poem and does so in the highly structured form of the sonnet (a 14-line poem that comprises an eight-line stanza, a six-line stanza, and regular rhyme and meter). The contrast between form and approach to content in this poem and “Boy Breaking Glass” shows the evolution of Brooks’s craft.

“We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks (1963)

“We Real Cool” is another poem about Black, urban youth—seven teenagers who play pool and openly proclaim their rebellion. This poem centers the voice of Black youth. These Black teens have each other, unlike the boy in “Boy Breaking Glass,” showing the importance of community as a source of resilience for Black youth.

“The Near-Johannesburg Boy” by Gwendolyn Brooks (1986)

Inspired by the children who participated in protests during the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, Brooks wrote a poem that is all voice, specifically the voice of a child who is ready to die (or live) for the sake of freedom.