Gwendolyn Brooks (1917–2000) was born in Topeka, Kansas, and raised in the "Bronzeville" section of Chicago, Illinois. She attended Englewood High School and Wilson Junior College. Brooks began writing poetry at age seven and published her earliest work in the Chicago Defender. Her first book of poetry, A Street in Bronzeville, appeared in 1945. In 1950, Brooks received the Pulitzer Prize for her second book of poetry, Annie Allen (1949), becoming the first African American to receive this prestigious award. Brooks's first two books of poetry and her novel Maude Martha (1953) all draw upon her experiences growing up in the Chicago inner city. Other works by Brooks include The Bean Eaters (1960), a collection of poetry; Bronzeville Boys and Girls (1956), a children's book; and Report from Part One (1972), an autobiographical work. In 1969, Brooks was named poet laureate of the state of Illinois. In 1985, she was appointed Poetry Consultant to the Library of Congress, the first African-American woman to hold that position. Her Winnie (1988) is a book of poetry inspired by the South African leader Winnie Mandela, wife of Nelson Mandela, the anti-apartheid activist who became president of South Africa's first black majority government. Gwendolyn Brooks lived in Chicago until her death on December 3, 2000.