Essential Brooks CD

Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gwendolyn Brooks reads 27 of her best poems, including “Do Not Be Afraid of No,” “The Bean Eaters,” “Riot,” and “The Sermon on the Warpland,” in a quiet, forceful manner that underscores the raw vigor of her writing, centered on the daily lives of black people in bleak cities. The recording bursts with the cutting observation and warm humor that have made Brooks one of the most celebrated poets of her time.