Letters
As a thirty-plus-year subscriber to Poets & Writers Magazine, I have relished all the issues but have never written a letter to the editor. That changed as I devoured every word of Major Jackson’s “Anatomy of a Pulitzer Prize Letter” (May/June 2017). Poet Gwendolyn Brooks, the subject of the piece, was an occasional instructor at Chicago Teachers College–North, where I attended in the mid-1960s. I was lucky enough to be her student in the only creative writing class offered there at the time. I believe that every one of us in the class valued the experience; we were in awe of Brooks as a teacher and a writer. She was encouraging, nurturing, and generous. We once requested that she read a poem of her own, and I don’t think I’ll ever forget her rendition of “We Real Cool.” Seven years after the class, I applied to graduate school. Brooks had given us her home phone number and told us to call anytime, and with great trepidation, I did. She answered, remembered me, and said she would be pleased to write a letter of support. I am forever grateful that she was my first writing teacher.
KAREN LOEB Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Thanks @Poet_Major and @poetswritersinc for a wonderful essay on Gwendolyn Brooks and the @PulitzerPrize—so much to think about.
OLGA ZILBERBOURG
@bowlga
Great stuff! Loved learning more about Gwendolyn Brooks, one of my hometown faves.
LAURA ROBERTS @originaloflaura
“Anatomy of a Pulitzer Prize Letter” in @poetswritersinc is such an interesting, insightful read.
EMILY PAIGE WILSON
@Emmy_Golightly