Lit Lang Library

RBML’s new exhibit celebrates the 75th anniversary of Gwendolyn Brooks’s 'Annie Allen' – the poetry collection that won the first Pulitzer Prize by a Black author – and explores the rich history of Black literature’s emergence into the mainstream. On display through May 2025.

Jesse Erickson, Astor Curator of Printed Books & Bindings at the Morgan Library, joins the RBML virtually to discuss Black bibliographical exploration and trace the migrations of Black Vernacular English (BVE) from 18th-century literature to that of the hip hop generation. This presentation is open to the public; please pre-register at go.illinois.edu/Erickson.