"We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks: Summary and Analysis

Title: "We Real Cool"
Author: Gwendolyn Brooks
Published: 1961
Themes: Urban Hopelessness

The Black Panther Party

Original Text	Analytic notes
We real cool. We Left school. We	The fact that the speaker or speakers are in school implies that they are young.
Lurk late. We Strike straight. We	They are so young, they can’t do anything except play pool, so they brag about it.
Sing sin. We Thin gin. We	Singing about sin hearkens back to Chattel Slavery in America where African slaves would lament about their sorrows through song. This suggests that post-slavery America is little better than before (for the Black community).
Jazz June. We Die soon.	There is a juxtaposition between June and Die. In the literary world and historically, the month of June represents life and rebirth. It is interesting that the writer would pair June, then, with this concept of death, suggesting that life and death for Black youth are closely linked. The line “We Die soon” emphasizes the close relationship of the speakers, indicating that they all regularly hang out.

Analysis/Notes:

• The poem was published in 1960.
• The poem evokes a sense of urban hopelessness as it is set during a time of radical change. (Circa Civil Rights Era)
• The slang of the poem constitutes a deliberate drop in diction, signifying youth.