Great Chicago Books Club: Maud Martha

Maud Martha (1958) is Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gwendolyn Brooks’ only work of adult fiction. The 34 vignettes tell the story of a girl’s maturation from girlhood to adolescence to womanhood in 1930s and 1940s black Chicago. Maud is the novella’s protagonist, and through her eyes we see the extraordinary circumstances and people and events that constitute her ordinary life. The book is rendered with humanity and musicality, as one would expect from one of the 20^th century’s greatest poets. Brooks’ daughter, Nora Brooks Blakely, will join us as the Great Chicago Books Club discusses Maud Martha at our meeting on Sunday, May 27, from 6-8 p.m. Nora, a top Gwendolyn Brooks scholar, will offer insight into her mother’s life and work. Margot McMahon, the artist whose Gwendolyn Brooks sculpture will be installed in Brooks Park on June 7, will host the event at her Oak Park home. All are welcome to join, but you must contact Don Evans for more information and the address of the meeting. Free and open to the public. The evening will begin with a peak inside Margot's studio, where she will show her clay sculpture and drawings in anticipation of the Gwendolyn Brooks: Oracle of Bronzeville dedication in Brooks Park June 7. There will be appetizers and drinks in a social hour preceding our conversation, and conversation about the book over dinner. We encourage guests to contribute something in a kind of pot luck spirit.