I truly enjoyed reading "Report from Part Two" by Gwendolyn Brooks. I read the book as part of the research I did for a school project and I was fascinated by the stories and poems I found within. The book is written in fragments that combine to form a remarkable image. We learn about Gwendolyn Brooks through her reflections on those around her, and revel in the beautiful prose and poetry she bestows on the reader. A great read for anyone even remotely interested in this wonderful poet!

Urban Rage in Bronzeville is a critical literary text which focuses on how poet Gwendolyn Brooks impacts Arts & Letters in America. Dr. B.J. Bolden's work focuses on the impact of Brooks in the areas of Political Science, Social Science, Literature and Society, US History, City-Town life in Literature, Afro-American Literature and Anger in Literature. Bolden explains the three works in clear historical, racial, political, cultural, and aesthetic terms. The works examined in Bolden's book are: A Street in Bronzeville (1945), Annie Allen (1949), and The Bean Eaters (1960). Bolden looks at all three works with an emphasis on the historical, formal, and feminist contexts. The slave experience and its long range effects on the lives of and values of Blacks in Bronzeville are identified and explained by Bolden. The white-standard system of self hate, despair, poverty, disdain, filth, sickness, and death is contrasted with hope, joy, god, and ideas of good. Bolden uses the works of Cayton, Drake, Myrdal and Williams to set up the social context for a view of Brooks' treatment of Bronzeville. The formal treatment of Brooks by Bolden hits at the core of cultural and aesthetic values. Brooks is considered the master of many elements of the formal poetics. Bolden unlocks these complex poetic forms Brooks uses to develop the epic poem. In the third work, the Bean Eaters (1960), Bolden explicates the poem, "A Bronzeville Mother Loiters in Mississippi, Meanwhile a Mother in Mississippi Burns Bacon." This poem about the Emmet Till incident is an example of Brooks' complex poetics because it uses the view of the white female who made the accusation to tell the story and transmit the sense of hate, horror, and death that go with history. Bolden shows that the critics response to Brooks' poem was harsh despite the mastery and complexity of the piece. Bolden's work is immensely important for the cultural, historical, racial implications, and is a critical and necessary book to read. Carnell Littlejohn, M.S. Mathematics, Chicago State University. This is a brief excerpt of a lengthier review given by Mr. Littlejohn.

Gwendolyn Brooks delivers an exceptional volume once again, and she speaks to the young(er) poets who have so much to share with the world. Brooks' vision for fledgling poets is encouraging and full of hope. This is a wonderful volume full of direction and inspiration for the poet within.

A collection of poetry by Brooks, probably the most honored African- American poet. It also includes "Maud Martha," Brooks' single novel to date. I liked the novel, but felt it was a little too much for me. I like poetry, but I think I like it in small doses, where I can relax and read and reread it without concentrating on how much time it is taking me to do so. Her fiction is like poetry, in the sense that it had as much to do with the vision of things as it did with the characterization or the plot. This is my failing as a reader: I've never cared that much for description, and the longer it continues, the more likely I am to tune out.

But the short poems here, especially from her earlier period, I like a lot. The subjects are strong and powerful, the economy and purpose of the prose admirable. One of my favorites was a poem called "Queen of the Blues," which contrasted the stage persona of a Billie Holliday-like singer with the treatment she receives as an African-American woman. Queen or no queen, she still has the blues. Or "The Murder," about a young boy who sits his toddler brother on fire then doesn't understand when the little brother isn't around afterwards. I did not care as much for her later poems, which were much more experimental in form and harder to follow in content.

"Blacks" is a collection of several decades' worth of the work of Gwendolyn Brooks, who is one of the most significant figures in 20th century American poetry. At over 500 pages long, "Blacks" is a truly monumental text. Included are several books in their entirety ("Annie Allen," "In the Mecca," etc.) as well as excerpts from some later books ("Primer for Blacks," "The Near-Johannesburg Boy and Other Poems," etc.). Although most of the books represented are works of poetry, "Blacks" also contains the text of Brooks' 1953 novel "Maud Martha."

Brooks is a stylistic virtuoso, proficient with the sonnet, ballad, free verse, and other forms. She is an expert with alliteration, rhyme, and other musical effects. Her vocabulary is encyclopedic; she evokes not only African-American vernacular speech, but also the entire sweeping history of the literary tradition in English. In this collection are both short poems and longer poems.

Many of Brooks' poems deal with aspects of African-American life. She writes of anti-Black violence and other forms of racism, and reflects upon enduring figures in African-American cultural history. She also writes of family relationships and intimate personal crises.

Her novel, "Maud Martha," is a poetic chronicle of the life of a dark-skinned urban Black girl. We follow Maud Martha through her girlhood, marriage, and motherhood. "Maud Martha" is a memorable vision of an African-American woman's life, and, in my opinion, should stand beside such literary works as Harriet Jacobs' "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl," Zora Neale Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God," and Audre Lorde's "Zami."

Of Brooks' long poems, I found the most memorable to be "In the Mecca," a tragic and haunting narrative poem that takes place in a Chicago apartment building. "In the Mecca" is a sort of urban, African-American "Odyssey" in which we encounter the various inhabitants of this world.

In her poetic tribute to Langston Hughes, Brooks writes that he has "a long reach, / strong speech." I would say the same of Brooks. Her amazing body of work deserves to reach into the 21st century and beyond.

Gwendolyn Brooks is one of my favorite poets and this anthology of her work gives a glimpsing answer to the question 'why?' "Blacks" is a veritae encyclopedia of the America experience written in Brooks' lucid but unsettling style.

It's people like T.S Eliot which make us think art is an inclusive privilege of a born, elite few. And then artists -like Brooks- go right along and prove that, at its best, art is inclusive, fun and thought-provoking. Rather than tying itself up in esoteric knots, Brooks' poetry flows along personal but recognizable paths that most blacks have experienced at one time or another.

I go to Northwestern U. and we've had the privilege of her speaking at our school many times. And after meeting her my respect only grew.

Forever "young, gifted and black" Gwedolyn Brooks deserves nothing less than the attention given to the likes of Langston Hughes or Phylis Wheatley. This books shows us why.

This is a wonderful book for both children and adults. If you like poems, then you should definetly read this book.

Five stars! If I had to choose the ten greatest books of the twentieth century, Brooks' Selected Poems would have to be one of them. Her voice is entirely original - no one who came before Brooks or follows her writes quite like her. Brooks' work is distinguished by so many wonderful qualities - she may have the best ear of any living American poet. Her sense of the musicality of language rivals that of Yeats and Dylan Thomas (as in, say, "A Sunset of the City," "We Real Cool," "Big Bessie throws her son into the street, and her great long poem, "Riot."). I once heard Gwendolyn Brooks read over twenty years ago when I was in college, and I still haven't forgotten the sound of her voice, and with it the dawn of my understanding that poetry is half-music, half-language. Brooks is also capable of that kind of clarity and brilliance of imagery that you find in the best William Carlos Williams Poems. (Read, for example, "The Last Quatrain of the Ballad of Emmett Till" or "My Little 'Bout Town Gal"). What has always been most special about her work for me, however, is the way Brooks captures nuances of feeling, multi-layers of emotion, in a few phrases, as in her very contemporary poem about abortion, "the mother," or her love poem, "A Lovely Love." The only other poet I know of who does this so well is Emily Dickinson.

In 1984, I had the honor to spend a day with Miss Brooks, and to hear her do a reading of many of the poems in this book. I wish that all of you could have heard that reading, her work is meant to be read aloud. That's what I would advise you to do, buy this book, and when you get it, read the poems aloud. Play with the flow and the cadence of the words. Miss Brooks is a national treasure, and her words speak to us all.

This is very much a poet's novel, both in its virtues (Brooks' eye for detail and her bright, lively, seemingly effortless prose) and its flaws (the underdeveloped characterizations, a certain flatness in the narrative). "Maud Martha" is a pleasant enough read, and I especially appreciated the vividly realistic descriptions of everything from different heating systems for apartments (steam heat vs. stove) to how to gut a chicken. But ultimately, I think this book is most interesting for the influence it had on more important novelists such as Toni Morrison and Paule Marshall. Brooks' most enduring achievements were as a poet, not as a novelist.

"Maud Martha" is a wonderful novel and a definate must read, for it addresses issues of growing up, but it also tackles race issues in the US. I found the previous customer review passionate, but for those of you waiting for Brooks's next book, you should know that Gwendolyn Brooks, who is known more as a poet, passed away this year. She lives on in her poetry, however. I suggest the book "Selected Poems" by Gwendolyn Brooks.

Oh, how I wish the wonderful Ms. Brooks would write more novels!

First of all, Maud Martha was written very economically which has caused me to gain a greater appreciation of poetry and concise speaking.

Secondly, Maud Martha is not only written to a female or adult audience, but it speaks to all people of different age groups, races, or walks of life.

I appreciate Gwendolyn Brooks for her nobility and classic style. Hope to see at least one more novel from her.

I have already passed on a few copies of Maud Martha. This has gone on to being my favorite book...EVER!

Written in 1953, Maud Martha was the first and only novel to be released by the late poet Gwendolyn Brooks. Although written over 50 years ago, the story and its heroine, Maud Martha Brown, continues to have a strong impact in the literary world today. Edited by Jacqueline Bryant, a series of writers offer a critical perspective in GWENDOLYN BROOKS' MAUD MARTHA: A CRITICAL COLLECTION.

A collection of ten chapters, this book is comprised of writers from many different backgrounds offer their own perspective on Brooks' novel. With supporting evidence, each contributor presents their unique perspective exploring various topics from the story's social themes to the heroine herself. Several interesting criticisms include Larry Andrew's "The Aliveness of Things: Nature in Maud Martha," Dolores Kendrick's "Brooksian Poetic Elegance," and D.H. Melhem's "Maud Martha, Bronzeville Boys and Girls".

Although geared towards supporting the book on a college level, MAUD MARTHA: A CRITICAL COLLECTION offers varying perspectives on Brooks' tale. This collection will open your eyes to new views and allow you to see Maud Martha in a whole new light.

Reviewed by Kanika A. Wade
THE RAWSISTAZ Reviewers