Skip to content

What shall I say, how is the truth to be said?
You were born, you had body, you died.
It is just that you never giggled or planned or cried.

— Gwendolyn Brooks The Mother (1945)

Another quote →

More quotes by Gwendolyn Brooks

Art is a refining and evocative translation of the materials of the world.

Black Poetry Writing (1975)

Truth-tellers are not always palatable.
There is a preference for candy bars.

Gottschalk and the Grande Tarantelle (1988)

Art hurts. Art urges voyages—
and it is easier to stay at home.

The Chicago Picasso (1968)

You don’t get all your questions answered in this world.

Winnie (1988)

Exhaust the little moment.
Soon it dies.
And be it gash or gold it will not come
Again in this identical guise.

All Gwendolyn Brooks quotes →

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Gwendolyn Brooks (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.