Using simple, illuminative paper-cut puppetry, this enchanting video imagines the moment of witness that inspired Gwendolyn Brooks to write her landmark poem, “We Real Cool.” Created by Manual Cinema in association with Crescendo Literary, with story by Eve Ewing and Nate Marshall and music by Jamila Woods and Ayanna Woods.

This video is a companion to a live staged production of No Blue Memories: The Life of Gwendolyn Brooks, premiering in November 2017 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Brooks’s birth.


“We Real Cool” reprinted by consent of Brooks Permissions.

Gwendolyn Brooks, “We Real Cool,” recorded on May 3, 1983, as part of the Academy of American Poets reading series, held at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. Used with permission of Academy of American Poets, 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY, 10038. This recording can be found at Poets.org.