Distinguished Professor Series

Starts: Wednesday 03/15/2017 2:00pm
Ends: Wednesday 03/15/2017 3:00pm

Amber N. Wiley, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of American Studies
Skidmore College
Gwendolyn Brooks’ Chicago: The Poetics of an Urban Landscape
March 15, 2017 – 2:00 p.m.

This presentation builds on research that connects the African American poet Brooks to the built environment of Chicago, and shows how a close reading of her poems and contextualization of her work within art, architecture, and urbanism leads to a more inclusive (and poetic) narrative. Brooks' body of work covering the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago brought the nuances of place to life. The vignettes that spilled out of the pages of her books depicted a post-war Chicago neighborhood teeming with a migrant African American population restricted to segregated living quarters by way of racial covenants and redlining. The lecture will also connect Brooks' work with re-presentations of Chicago by Jacob Lawrence, Aaron Douglas, Faith Ringgold, and fellow poet Carl Sandburg.