''Annie Allen'' is a book of poetry by American author

Gwendolyn Brooks Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks (June 7, 1917 – December 3, 2000) was an American poet, author, and teacher. Her work often dealt with the personal celebrations and struggles of ordinary people in her community. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetr ...

that was published by

Harper & Brothers Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins based in New York City. History J. & J. Harper (1817–1833) James Harper and his brother John, printers by training, started their book publishin ...

in 1949. The book tells in poetry about the life of Annie Allen, an African-American girl growing to adulthood. It received the

Pulitzer Prize for Poetry The Pulitzer Prize for Poetry is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually for Letters, Drama, and Music. It was first presented in 1922, and is given for a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author, published ...

in 1950 and made Brooks the first African American to ever receive a Pulitzer Prize.

Story

The work consists of three parts about an African-American girl, Annie, growing into womanhood. The first part, titled "Notes from the Childhood and Girlhood", includes 11 poems giving glimpses into Annie's birth, her mother, and her reaction to

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

, killing, and death. "The Anniad", which dominates the collection, is a

heroic poem An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

divided into 43

stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian language, Italian ''stanza'' , "room") is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or Indentation (typesetting), indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme scheme, rhyme and ...

s. The name is a pun combining the protagonist's name and the title of

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

's epic ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan_War#Sack_of_Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to ...

''. While not a classical "hero" like

Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...

, Annie's very survival through poverty, racial discrimination, and unhappiness makes her heroic. Next, three "Appendix" poems tell of Annie's dreams of a lover who goes to war, returns to her, marries her, leaves her, and comes back home to die. In the final section, "The Womanhood" shows Annie's outlook on a world she would like to change. Ultimately, the book of poetry shows how Annie has changed from an egotistic romantic to a realistic idealist.

Reception

Phyllis McGinley Phyllis McGinley (March 21, 1905 – February 22, 1978) was an American author of children's books and poetry. Her poetry was in the style of light verse, specializing in humor, satiric tone and the positive aspects of suburban life. She won a P ...

, writing ''

The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

'', praised her use of an experimental form she called the sonnet-ballad, calling "The Anniad" "technically dazzling". ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' called the book "refreshing and interesting," but felt that it fell short of the standard Brooks had set in her previous book, ''

A Street In Bronzeville A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

''. ''Annie Allen'' is more formal and technical than the earlier book, and both critics and scholars sometimes find it challenging to understand. In 1950 the book won the

Eunice Tietjens Eunice Tietjens (July 29, 1884 – September 6, 1944) was an American poet, novelist, journalist, children's author, lecturer, and editor. Early years and education Eunice Strong Hammond was born in Chicago on July 29, 1884. She was educated in ...

Prize (awarded by ''

Poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

'' magazine) and the Pulitzer Prize for poetry.

References

External links

"Gwendolyn Brooks"
at Poets.org {{authority control American poetry collections 1949 poetry books Works by Gwendolyn Brooks Harper & Brothers books Pulitzer Prize for Poetry-winning works