Insight

              A downpour forced the event inside, but on June 6
the Illinois State Library was officially rededicated
and named in honor of the late Pulitzer Prize winner
and Illinois Poet Laureate
Gwendolyn Brooks. Nearly
400 people watched as
Nora Brooks Blakely, the
poet’s daughter, unveiled a
replica of a plaque
commemorating the event
in the library’s atrium. The
original plaque is
permanently mounted on a
marble base near the front
entrance of the library.
Secretary of State and State
Librarian Jesse White hosted
the ceremony. Among the dignitaries in attendance
were Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Senate President Emil
Jones, Jr., House Speaker Michael J. Madigan and his
wife Shirley Madigan, who is chairman of the Illinois
Arts Council, and state Rep. Lovana Jones, who was
a friend of Brooks. Allison Payne, anchor and
reporter for WGN-TV News Chicago, served as
master of ceremonies.
The ceremony featured presentations by the Muntu
Dance Theatre, the Chocolate Chips Theatre
Company, the Abundant Faith Christian Center Choir
of Springfield and a tribute by Haki Madhubuti,
founder and publisher of Third World Press and
founder and director emeritus of the Gwendolyn
Brooks Center at Chicago State University.
Brooks, who resided all her life in Chicago and died
in 2000, was the first African-American to win the
Pulitzer Prize in 1950 for her second published
volume of verse, Annie Allen. In 1968, she was
named Illinois Poet Laureate, succeeding Carl
Sandburg, and served until her death.
"Gwendolyn Brooks
embodied all that poets can
do for their communities,”
said Gov. Blagojevich. “She
said for us what we could
not say for ourselves. Her
poems are about what it's
like living in Illinois' many
diverse communities."
Blagojevich also
announced the
appointment of a
committee to select a
successor to Brooks as Illinois
Poet Laureate. State Library Director Jean Wilkins
will serve on the committee.
Among her other life achievements, Brooks was
awarded the prestigious Frost Medal and National
Medal of Arts, named a “Living Legend” by the
Library of Congress and a Jefferson Lecturer by the
National Endowment for the Humanities, awarded
more than 75 honorary degrees, and received a
Lifetime Achievement Award from the National
Endowment for the Arts and a National Book
Foundation Award for Distinguished Contribution to
American Letters. She established the Illinois Poet
Laureate Awards in 1969 to encourage elementary
and high school students to write.
Brooks married Henry L. Blakely in 1939, and they
had two children, Nora Brooks Blakely and Henry
Blakely Jr.
The Illinois General Assembly approved HJR
11 this spring renaming the library the
Illinois State Library Gwendolyn Brooks
Building. The resolution was sponsored by
Senate President Jones and House Speaker
Madigan.
July/August
in
this
issue
Eric Larson to
appear at book fair
Digital talking book
project
State Library
legislation passed
State Library named after Gwendolyn Brooks
2003
Jesse White • Secretary of State & State Librarian
A Newsletter from the Illinois State Library
INSIGHT
Secretary of State Jesse White and Gwendolyn
Brooks’ daughter, Nora Brooks Blakely, unveil
a replica of the dedication plaque located in
front of the State Library commemorating the
renaming of the building in honor of Brooks.
“Gwendolyn Brooks was a national treasure
who enriched many lives,” said Secretary of
State Jesse White. “We are proud and honored
that she spent her life here in Illinois, teaching
and bringing poetry to our schools, hospitals
and prisons. It is fitting that her name be
permanently attached to the Illinois State
Library — a place where anyone can access
knowledge and appreciate the contributions of
such a gifted artist.”