Today marks the tenth day of 28 Days of Black Excellence created by VocalEssence Associate Conductor G. Phillip Shoultz, III. Phillip highlights the work of poet Gwendolyn Brooks, “one of the most highly regarded, influential, and widely read poets of 20th-century American poetry. She was a much-honored poet, even in her lifetime, with the distinction of being the first Black author to win the Pulitzer Prize.” Our musical pairing is the spiritual “Over My Head, I Hear Music In the Air,” changed from its original text, “Up Above My Head,” during the civil rights era, the best known recording of which was by Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Marie Knight in 1947.
Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000)
Notable Achievements: First African American to win a Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1950, poetry consultant to the Library of Congress—the first Black woman to hold that position—and poet laureate of the State of Illinois.
Learn More
- https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2017/05/29/530081834/remembering-the-great-poet-gwendolyn-brooks-at-100
- https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/gwendolyn-brooks
- https://www.poetryoutloud.org/poet/gwendolyn-brooks/
Sponsor Thank You
This episode of 28 Days of Black Excellence was sponsored by Carol Brandenburg.
Sponsor Black Excellence
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