We Real Cool
221,772
Published 2017-06-06
This video is a companion to a live staged production of No Blue Memories: The Life of Gwendolyn Brooks, premiering in November 2017 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Brooks’s birth.
“We Real Cool” reprinted by consent of Brooks Permissions.
Gwendolyn Brooks, “We Real Cool,” recorded on May 3, 1983, as part of the Academy of American Poets reading series, held at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. Used with permission of Academy of American Poets, 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY, 10038. This recording can be found at Poets.org.
All Comments (21)
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I know this will reach nobody, but this one really hit me. I grew up hearing how statistically, I was bound for drug use, crime, and/ or suicide. So as a young adult, I accepted the destiny as it was told was set for me. I was reckless and lived every day ready to die… it never came. This poem, I heard my story in a way. I ditched classes, I would stay out late, I would listen to songs and sing of pain, I lived every day ready to die soon. Wild how this poem is presented with a very specific subject, yet can be applied to many others who had parallel experiences.
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It's genuinely really impressive that they made silhouettes so expressive
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In the early 50-60 hundreds students would check in there classes and leave by this side door and go to the golden shovel to pool and after that they'll drink, and the phrase "Sing sin" means that during that time they thought cards and swinging your hips was about the devil. And the phrase "Jazz June" means it was the summer so school would be over and kids would be at the golden shovel. And when it means by "We die soon" kids don't come back home after they leave their school. I'm in 6th grade and my music teacher explained this to us.
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Really loved the ending showing all the boys like going to church, feeding their siblings, working, it made me tear up! Beautiful!
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It is confirmed. Poetry is a way of life.
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Speechless. Perhaps that is the point of her poem...
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This poem is so beautiful! It inspires my 5th graders to create more powerful poems!
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Who is here because thier teacher made em btw it’s so beautiful
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I just came from the play "Pipeline" and this poem was in the play. It describes what a lot of black people go through with not knowing themselves and the perspective a lot of people see Black people as. I now understand the power of being black and what i have to do✊🏿
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WONDERFUL! Gwendolyn Brooks was a Chicago treasure, but so is Manual Cinema. Thank you for sharing this with us.
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This short piece along with the composition the music the design is the singular best piece of americana I’ve seen on YouTube since YouTube started brilliant work!
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This took me back to my times with my Granny, telling me about Gwendolyn Brooks. I miss them both tremendously
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My teacher showed us this at school so I decided to come back and make a trippy edit about it
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This is such an amazing work of art <3
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This is amazing!! So glad it was uploaded!! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
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oh lord, i never comment on anything but just wanna say how much i LOVE this. : )
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Beautiful - inspiring. Thank you.
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Brilliant execution in every way of a great classic.
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I love how she says "we"
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This is so cool!
