I’m pretty confident Prof. Oerlemans made a remark about how we’re at a point where the poets we are now reading have recordings of them reading their poems, and interviews. Gwendolyn Brooks’ poem We Real Cool was published in 1960, but we have her commentary on the poem. (Found here -> https://poets.org/poem/we-real-cool <-) Admittedly, I can not find the exact date this recording was made, but It would probably have to be after 1987 (The invention of the mp3 file format).
Having this interview as a resource is insightful; Through it we learn about the poem’s exigence, a funny misinterpretation, and one of its line’s greater significance.
- In the interview, Gwendolyn Brooks talks about what prompted her to write this poem: She was walking around her community during school hours when she noticed a group of school boys playing pool. She thought to herself how they must feel, and how they would feel if they had more awareness. This is reflected in We Real Cool, where the speaker of the poems refers to themself as “We.” Brooks inserts her own views on the childrens’ delinquency through the speaker of the poem: Their delinquent lifestyle where they “strike straight,” (Play pool instead of be in school) and they “thin gin,” (Create alcohol) will result in their early misfortune.
- In the interview, Brooks talks about the reason behind her poems frequent ban: The line “We / Jazz June.” is often interpreted as a sexual innuendo. Brooks denies this behind the original intention of the lines, but admits that the interpretation is fitting.
- In the interview, Brooks talks about the significance behind her choice of month in the poem: June. There really isn’t a meaning at all. June is just a nice and uncontentious month. There is absolutely nothing significant about the month of June. Why are you still reading this bullet point. Move on already. If anyone tries to insist that the month of June is significant please shut them down.
I think it’s super cool that you found this interview, and I’m intrigued by what you have to say about it! I Hate to say it, but I listened to the recording myself, and I think I’d push back on your interpretation of the recording that June means nothing. Brooks explains in the recording that she purposefully used “June” to represent the so-called establishment, since “June” is a beloved, uncontroversial month. I think her point with this is that the establishment is the norm, accepted by everyone else. This is why the boys seem to feel so much “coolness” at their ability to defy it– since that ability is rare.