Golden Shovel's Poem We Real Cool

In the poem “We Real Cool”, the speaker describes what she sees one day in a

Pool Hall in the South Side of Chicago, the late 1950’s. There she saw a group of young

boys, perhaps too young to be there. The speaker wonders what the group of kids thinks

of themselves and how cool they think they are. The poet brings up the issue that in

society the youth takes pride in their aimless behavior. The speaker also suggests that

the boys are living to the fullest, as though they might die tomorrow. The word "We"

is repeated eight times in this eight-line poem as a signal that the boys have a group

identity. The boys want to be defined by their rebellious actions, which place them at

odds
At the Golden Shovel there would be a bar in the back serving cheap gin, and

an old-style radio plays scratchy jazz in the corner. In this time period it was the norm

to have drinks, play some pool, listen to jazz and even have some gambling going on.

Chicago is the world capitol of the blues, and the city also played a major role in the rise

of jazz as an art form. This poem is built up from jazz rhythm and theme. Its constant use

of alliteration has a convincing effect. The pool players seem to know something about

the deep jazz culture. Pool halls are still popular, especially in big cities, but they're not as

popular as they used to be. The speaker has a group of seven kids here, underage and here

during the time of school for most kids their age. Brooks has said she was intrigued by

the mix of rebelliousness and insecurity she perceived in the boys she saw playing pool.

They want to be noticed, but they also want to seem like they don't give a darn either

way. The repeated use of the word "We" reinforces their group identity, which could
Other than this being a real place the name of the place

offers some meaning. This takes place in June, the “Golden” part of the summer and

“Shovel” in which this youth is digging themselves a hole with the actions they engage

in here. The young men in the pool hall want to project a strong presence, ”We real

cool” but this very desire may reveal their insecurity. The way they say “We real cool”

instead of we are real cool shows either their effort to show they don’t need school or in

fact that because of these acts of plating hooky as taken there toll. The speaker uses the

word “lurk”, to make the boys sound ferial and mischievous. They also “Strike straight”,

that can mean that they are here often and spend a lot of there time perfecting this art.

Ross Nunez

07-17-13

“We sing sin. We thin gin” gives an image of the boys living the life. They have skipped

school and spending their time and money enjoying taboo luxuries for their age. Then the

speaker says, “We jazz June”, this suggests freedom, improvisation, dancing,