The late Lorraine Williams Bolton once said, speaking of Gwendolyn Brooks, "the pattern of her rearing was similar to...that of many Chicagoans. It tended to encourage inwardness and withdrawal into imaginative resources." (Kent 4) Brooks's childhood and upbringing held a bearing upon her future works, and can be seen laced throughout her poetry and writing. Her youth affected not only herself but also the readers and critics around the world who perused her works, for which her life had such an immense impact. Who was Gwendolyn Brooks and how did her life influence her works?
             Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks was born on 7 June 1917 in Topeka, Kansas. She would be the first of two children to parents David and Keziah Brooks. After Gwendolyn's birth, the Brookses moved back to Chicago, where David and Keziah had first met. Gwendolyn's brother, Raymond, was born a short sixteen months later, after which the family moved to their permanent residence in Chicago. They were the second African-American family to move in on their block.
             Gwendolyn's father, David Brooks, was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and was one of twelve children. After graduating from high school, David attended Fisk University where he hoped to work towards a medical degree, but he was unable to stay for more than one year. He then moved to Chicago, where he worked as a porter with the McKinley Music Publication Company. He was employed there for thirty years.
             Gwendolyn's mother, Keziah Wims, was born in Topeka, Kansas, and was one of ten children. She dreamed of becoming a great concert pianist. Although her dream was never fulfilled, at the age of fifty she managed to write her first song, "Luvenia," named after her mother. (Kent 2)
             In the year 1914, David accompanied a friend named Berry Thompson to the house of Gertrude Wims, where he met Keziah. David and Keziah were married in July of 1916, i...