BrooksDay 2026 – Children’s Library
Featured writers: Nora Brooks Blakely and young writers
Led by author and educator Nora Brooks Blakely, the daughter of Gwendolyn Brooks, young scholars take the stage as part of BrooksDay. Hear presentations by young people ages 5-11, representing Brooks-related schools and groups. Fun and inspiring for the whole family!
BrooksDay is the Guild Literary Complex’s annual celebration of Gwendolyn Brooks, held every year on June 7th, the anniversary of her birth. This year, they take the stage at the American Writers Festival to honor her legacy as an artist and an iconic figure of generosity and civic conscience in Chicago and the nation. Presented in partnership with Brooks Permissions and the Guild Literary Complex.
About the writers:
Since 2013, BROOKSDAY has been a marquee event in the Guild’s yearly calendar with many literary, cultural, and civic leaders from Chicago—and beyond—taking the stage to celebrate and honor Gwendolyn Brooks, former poet laureate of Illinois and the first African American poet to win the Pulitzer Prize.
BROOKS PERMISSIONS are committed to shining a well-deserved and continuing spotlight on the legacy of Gwendolyn Brooks through projects and programming, licensing, and visibility. The company has shared the works of Gwendolyn Brooks through its performing arts collective APG: The Aurora Performance Group; publications such as the most recent collection of her work, SEASONS: A Gwendolyn Brooks Experience; the illustrated poetry series, Graphic Gwendolyn; and this 75th anniversary edition of Annie Allen, which includes tribute poems and critical essays accompanying the original Pulitzer Prize-winning work by Gwendolyn Brooks. Learn more here.
Since 1989, the GUILD LITERARY COMPLEX has been elevating the literary voices of Chicago by connecting writers, artists, and audiences across the city. Born from a community bookstore and shaped by decades of pioneering and inclusive programming, the Guild Literary Complex brings together people and ideas through readings, performances, conversations, and experimental art that celebrate language. From honoring the legacy of Gwendolyn Brooks to Spanish-language programming and amplifying LGBTQIA+ voices, our work centers the literary as a powerful force for connection, reflection, and social imagination. Learn more here.
Graphic Gwendolyn: a song in the front yard
created by Brooks Permissions
One of Ms. Brooks’ most endearing and best loved poems, “a song in the front yard” is about a young girl who is usually restricted to her front yard. She dreams of the larger, bolder possibilities in, and beyond, her back yard. Graphic Gwendolyn is an exciting concept, an illustrated full-color poetry series featuring the work of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gwendolyn Brooks. This comic format expands Brooks’ legacy into a new medium.