Gwendolyn Brooks was one of many great writers. In his early poetry, Brooks attacked racial discrimination, praised African American heroes, and satirized blacks and whites. He showed great mastery of classical and modernist poetic techniques. Gwendolyn Brooks was born June 7, 1917 in Topeka, Kansas. She grew up in the Chicago community called Bronzeville (Brooks 1). Gwendolyn Brooks' parents were David and Kiziah Brooks. His mother was a school teacher. Gwendolyn's father was the only member of the family to graduate from high school. Her parents encouraged her to express herself through art (Sickels 2). David Brooks, his father, supported the family as a caretaker and house painter. His salary was barely enough to meet his family's needs and he was never unemployed. Gwendolyn considers her a powerful man (Life 1). After graduating from high school in Oklahoma, he attended Fisk University for a year and dreamed of becoming a doctor, but had no money for tuition. Her father meant everything to her (Farther 1). Keziah Brooks, a former school teacher from Topeka, Kansas, read to Gwendolyn and Raymond and entertained them by drawing pictures (Brooks 4). He went out of his way to make sure his children were happy. Keziah expected her children to do well in school. David and Keziah Brooks influenced Gwendolyn's love of reading and writing poetry. Her father often recited poetry to her and her brother (Life 2). By age 7, Brooks was writing two-line verses. He filled notebooks with poems at the age of 11 (Biography 1). At the age of thirteen he published his first poem in the magazine "American Childhood". During her high school years, she met the poet James Weldon Johnson who encouraged her to read and emulate poets such as… medium… to reside in Chicago, the city that had given her so much. She was a teacher, critic, and inspirational speaker to many people (Life 3). Days after being diagnosed with cancer, Gwendolyn suffered a sudden stroke. Instead of going to the hospital, he chose to stay at his home. With friends and family at her bedside, talking to her and sometimes reading to her. Gwendolyn Brooks died at the age of 83 on December 3, 2000 (Death 1). Works Cited Brooks, Gwendolyn, Biographical Notes. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2003.Brooks, Gwendolyn. Biographical of Gwendolyn Brooks. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2003.Brooks, Gwendolyn. Chicago poet. Chicago: Morgan Reynolds Inc. 2003"Brooks, Gwendolyn." Online infofinder on the workbook. World Book, 2014. Web.28 April 2014Sickels, Amy and Harold Bloom. Gwendolyn Brooks Biography. New York City: Infobase Publishing,2005.