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91_HR0975
LRB9115201RHrh
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives wish to express their sincere condolences to
4 the family and friends of world-renowned writer,
5 humanitarian, and Poet Laureate Gwendolyn Brooks, who passed
6 away on December 3, 2000; and
7 WHEREAS, Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks was born in Topeka,
8 Kansas on June 7, 1917; her family moved to Chicago, Illinois
9 shortly after her birth, and her parents nurtured her love of
10 literature at an early age; Ms. Brooks graduated from
11 Englewood High School and received an Associate's Degree from
12 Wilson Junior College, now known as Kennedy-King College, in
13 1936; and
14 WHEREAS, Over the past fifty years, Ms. Brooks'
15 excellence, linguistic prowess, and literary genius
16 epitomized her commitment to education; she taught at the
17 University of Wisconsin-Madison, City College of New York,
18 Columbia College of Chicago, Northeastern Illinois
19 University, and Elmhurst College; at the time of her death,
20 Ms. Brooks was the Distinguished Professor of English at
21 Chicago State University and the Poet Laureate of Illinois;
22 and
23 WHEREAS, Ms. Brooks' life long career enhanced, enriched,
24 and embraced language on an international scale; to her
25 credit, she has been awarded over 75 honorary doctorates, and
26 she was a sought-after speaker known for her humble, giving,
27 and compassionate spirit; Ms. Brooks' awards and honors
28 include the Pulitzer Prize for Literature for "Annie Allen"
29 in 1950; Poet Laureate of Illinois from 1969 to 2000; 29th
30 Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1985 to
31 1986; Senior Fellowship in Literature by the National
32 Endowment for the Arts in 1989; Medal for Distinguished
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1 Contributions to American Letters by the National Book
2 Foundation in 1994; Jefferson Lecturer from the National
3 Endowment for the Humanities Lifetime Achievement Award in
4 1994; National Medal of the Arts in 1995; Lincoln Laureate
5 Award in 1997; International Literary Hall of Fame for
6 Writers of African Descent in 1998; First Women Award
7 presented by the First Ladies' Library in 1999; 65th Academy
8 Fellowship from the Academy of American Poets in 2000; and
9 Distinguished Achievement Award from the Phi Beta Kappa Honor
10 Society in 2000; and
11 WHEREAS, Ms. Brooks has "put pen to paper" countless
12 times and authored more than twenty books of poetry,
13 including "A Street in Bronzeville" (1945), "The Bean Eaters"
14 (1960), "Selected Poems" (1963), "In the Mecca" (1968),
15 "Riot"(1969), "The Tiger Who Wore White Gloves" (1970), "To
16 Disembark" (1981), "Young Poet's Primer" (1981), "The Near
17 Johannesburg Boy" (1986), and "Children Coming Home" (1992);
18 she also wrote one novel, "Maud Martha" (1953), and two
19 autobiographies, "Report from Part One. An Autobiography"
20 (1972) and "Report from Part Two. Autobiography" (1996); and
21 she edited "Jump Bad. A New Chicago Anthology" in 1971;
22 several of her poems are frequently anthologized, and they
23 include: "We Real Cool", "The Mother", "Of DeWitt Williams on
24 His Way to Lincoln Cemetery", "Kitchenette Building", and "A
25 Bronzeville Mother Loiters in Mississippi Meanwhile, a
26 Mississippi Mother Burns Bacon"; and
27 WHEREAS, Many ceremonies, programs, events, and
28 institutions have paid tribute to the many accomplishments
29 and attributes of Ms. Brooks; in 1997, Mayor Richard M. Daley
30 announced Gwendolyn Brooks Week in conjunction with her 80th
31 birthday; a special program entitled "Eighty Gifts" was held
32 at the Harold Washington Library Center amid family, friends,
33 supporters, and 80 poets and writers from across the globe;
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1 additionally, during the 7th Annual Gwendolyn Brooks Writers'
2 Conference, the annual edition of "WarpLand: A Journal of
3 Black Literature and Ideas" (1997) featured literary and
4 poetic tributes to Ms. Brooks honoring her birthday and
5 invaluable contributions to literature; some of the special
6 honors bestowed upon Ms. Brooks include the Gwendolyn Brooks
7 Center for Black Literature and Creative Writing at Chicago
8 State University; the Gwendolyn Brooks Junior High School in
9 Harvey, Illinois; the Gwendolyn Brooks Cultural Center at
10 Western Illinois University in Macomb, Illinois; the Edward
11 Jenner School Auditorium in Chicago's Cabrini Green
12 community; and the engraved listing of her name on the
13 Illinois State Library in Springfield and the Carter G.
14 Woodson Regional Library in Chicago; and
15 WHEREAS, Ms. Brooks' genuine love for people radiated
16 from her speech, literature, and life; she had a special love
17 for children and sponsored various poetry awards, including
18 the Young Poets' Awards, an annual event created to honor
19 young writers in Illinois; many programs, contests, and
20 events were personally financed by Ms. Brooks in her efforts
21 to give young writers opportunities to publicly read their
22 writings, receive monetary awards in recognition of their
23 achievements, and celebrate the creative talents in young
24 people everywhere; and
25 WHEREAS, The passing of Gwendolyn Brooks will be deeply
26 felt by all who knew and loved her, especially her son, Henry
27 Blakely III; her daughter, Nora Brooks Blakely, and countless
28 family members, friends, and fellow poets; therefore, be it
29 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
30 NINETY-FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
31 we mourn the death of world-renowned writer, humanitarian,
32 and Poet Laureate Gwendolyn Brooks of Chicago; and be it
33 further
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1 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
2 presented to the family of Gwendolyn Brooks.