Lesson 6

Today’s Agenda Debrief “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks ~Structure

Computer Lab Debriefing What did you learn in the lab? How are your test scores? Your GPA? Any requirements for college you didn’t know beforehand? Should you change your life plan?

The Pool Players. Seven at the Golden Shovel. We real cool. We Left school. We Lurk late. We Strike straight. We Sing sin. We Thin gin. We Jazz June. We Die soon. ~Gwendolyn Brooks, 1959 Ask for 3 volunteers to read the poem. Have them wait in the hall while others are reading so they can make it their own. Afterwards, discuss the manner in which each read. Why the “we” at the end of the line? Is this what we would expect? What’s it purpose?

“We Real Cool” Read silently. Decide how it should be read aloud. Consider when to pause, why, what words to stress and why. Consider the effect on the audience. Consider how white space affects the poem. Consider how line breaks affect the poem's sound, pace, and theme. The Pool Players. Seven at the Golden Shovel. We real cool. We Left school. We Lurk late. We Strike straight. We Sing sin. We Thin gin. We Jazz June. We Die soon. Gwendolyn Brooks was walking through her Chicago neighborhood one day when she saw something that caught her eye. She looked through the doorway of a pool hall and saw a bunch of guys who looked too young to be there. She was intrigued by what she saw as their combination of boldness and insecurity. On the one hand, they were thumbing their noses at society by hanging out at a place populated by gamblers and pool sharks – on a school day. On the other hand, spending your day in a dingy, dimly lit room seems more like something you'd do to look cool, as opposed to actually being cool. "We Real Cool" has become an example of what can be accomplished in a very short space with simple, everyday language "We Real Cool" is as much about defining the possibilities of poetry as it is about its particular subject matter. Using only a few well-placed words, Brooks recreated the atmosphere of the pool hall and the attitudes of the players. She emphasized sound over description.

“We Real Cool” In Her Own Words The Pool Players. Seven at the Golden Shovel. We real cool. We Left school. We Lurk late. We Strike straight. We Sing sin. We Thin gin. We Jazz June. We Die soon. Gwendolyn Brooks, “We Real Cool” from Selected Poems. Copyright © 1963 by Gwendolyn Brooks. Reprinted with the permission of the Estate of Gwendolyn Brooks. What do we learn from the subtitle? Why bookend with “we”? Diction - “lurk” and “strike”? Infer because they “lurk late”? “strike straight”? Boys playing pool at the golden shovel The poem lists off the thoughts of some young guys playing pool at a pool house called "The Golden Shovel," that seems pretty straightforward. But it's actually more complicated than that. In fact, the lines we read are what an outside observer thinks these boys might be feeling. So this observer, our speaker, thinks the boys might have dropped out of school, be drinking gin, staying out late at night, enjoying jazz, and will have short lives. Repeated “we” – boys are arrogant – self-conscious (most of the times go hand in hand) – project a strong presence – think about when bart simpson tagged everything around springfield with el barto Lurk and strike – makes them sound like jungle animals Stay out late = don’t have to wake up for a job Strike straight – spent lots of time perfecting pool shot Sing sin = celebrate sin – who knows what kinds??? Thin gin = verb – dilute gin with water Jazz june – party it up? Some have suggested it means have sex? Brooks says wasn’t her intention but she doesn’t mind that interpretation Die soon – could be the boys are continuing their rebellious ways and hope to die before old age kills their vibe; another interpretation is that the speaker is looking in the pool hall and imagining what the boys are like in the first stanzas and then the last line is what the speaker thinks will happen to them. What does she mean by "the establishment"? How are the pool players going against the establishment? Why “sing”? How is “thin” used? “jazz June”??

“We Real Cool” Where does this poem take place? Who makes up the "we" in the poem? How would you describe the "we" and what are they doing throughout the poem (consider their age and attitude)? How would you describe the voices, or identities, of the "we"? Was it difficult to pause after each "we" (where the line breaks). Why or why not? What about the poem stood out as you were reading the poem? What is the mood or tone of the poem? How would you describe the sound of the poem - like a song, a chant, or some other sound? "We Real Cool" is a poem for anyone who has ever played hooky. Though it's written from the perspective of seven young guys who are hanging out in a pool hall instead of attending class, we never really feel like the pool players are talking. Rather, the speaker is trying to imagine their thoughts. At first you might think the speaker is being judgmental – imagine an older lady wagging her finger and saying, "You darn kids!" But we like to imagine the speaker is kind of playing hooky herself, and one-upping the kids in the pool hall. After all, what the heck is she doing poking her head into a gambling and drinking establishment in the middle of the day? If you've ever seen the Oscar-winning boxing movie Million Dollar Baby, think of the scene where the salty old man played by Morgan Freeman enters the ring with a cocky, young upstart and cleans his clock. The speaker of the poem does something like that here. She sees these guys who think they are "real cool," who think they know something about jazz and "singing sin," and this poem is her response. She says, "I can write words that are more like jazz than you'll ever produce, and I can sum up your entire adolescent existence in 24 words. You'd better run along now back to school and leave the 'singing about sin' to the older folks, like me.“

Form and Structure We real cool. We left school. We lurk late We strike straight. We sing sin. We thin gin. We jazz June. We die soon. How does the sound of the poem change? How do the pace and rhythm of the poem change? How does the tone of the poem change? Are any elements of the poem lost when the lines are presented in "natural" sounding sentences?

Form and Structure The Pool Players. Seven at the Golden Shovel. We real cool. We left school. We lurk late. We strike straight. We sing sin. We thin gin. We jazz June. We die soon. How does the sound of the poem change? How do the pace and rhythm of the poem change? How does the tone of the poem change? Are any elements of the poem lost when the lines are presented in "natural" sounding sentences? Is the prose poem as powerful as Brooks' version? Why or why not?

A Commoner’s Connection A Non-English Teacher's Reaction to the Poem Poetry Still Matters

Your Turn Write your own “We Real Cool” poem. Follow the structure of Brooks’s original. “We” at the end of the line. Rhyme scheme. Single syllables. Eight lines minimum. When people see you and your friends, what would they say about your attitudes/mannerisms?