We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks, told with paper-cut puppetry

Using paper-cut puppetry, this video imagines the moment of witness that inspired Gwendolyn Brooks to write her landmark poem, “We Real Cool.”

Via The Kid Should See This

We Real Cool
By GWENDOLYN BROOKS


The Pool Players.
Seven at the Golden Shovel.

We real cool. We
Left school. We


Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We


Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We

Jazz June. We
Die soon.

“We Real Cool” from Selected Poems. Copyright © 1963 by Gwendolyn Brooks.