by Sofia Pavkovic
Chicago Tribune clippings, 1941-1942
“the mother” by Gwendolyn Brooks, published for the first time in 1945, has been interpreted as both a pro and anti abortion poem. However, Brooks’ estate expressly forbid the poem as being used to promote either message. This podcast examines the political and cultural landscape around abortion in the 1940s in order to contextualize the poem’s many potential meanings.
