Gwendolyn Brooks' (1917-2000) poetry is characterized by her personal experiences. As a black woman living in Chicago, her writing contains prominent urban themes. The city and its people are her template, over which she lays imagination. She writes about the commonplace, choosing to explain it from an extraordinary perspective. To her, the everyday is the most beautiful. She interprets the situations of her neighbors as profound and worth memorializing.
Poems like "The Bean Eaters" and "Boy Breaking Glass" most clearly display Brooks' voice. The old couple of bean eaters are humble and ordinary. Living in a cluttered back room, they continuously share an inexpensive meal in silence. Rather than placing a note of melancholy or disgust upon this image, Brooks imagines the fullness of this couple's lives up to this point. With such boundless memories, they must be content now to remain in simplicity. Similarly, the somewhat obnoxious boy who breaks a window becomes a hero in Brooks' interpretation, instead of a nuisance. She sees his handiwork as art without the appropriate outlet. He is rallying against the betrayal of the American dream, which, in Brooks' opinion, promises wealth only to the already wealthy.
Another point to note about her consideration of urban life, is the manner in which Brooks' expresses loneliness. Her poems contain a common element of solitude, despite the well-populated city. "A Light and Diplomatic Bird" places the longing for human relationship upon the glimpse of a bird. This visitor at the window serves as consolation in place of real friendship. Onto him Brooks projects her heartbreak and asks for mercy. In "kitchenette building" she ponders how unbearable it is to feel alone when one can literally observe the many people around them. Her apartment building is crowded, but Brooks cannot make them understand her nor communicate easily. They're strangers, but their lives are parallel with hers. This is a unique kind of isolation found among urban populations.
