Annie Allen is a book of poetry published by noted poet Gwendolyn Brooks

Gwendolyn Brooks

Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks was an American poet. She was appointed Poet Laureate of Illinois in 1968 and Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1985.-Biography:...

 which was published in 1949, and for which she received the Pulitzer Prize

Pulitzer Prize

The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...

. This made her the first African American writer to ever receive a Pulitzer Prize.

The work consists of three parts about an African American girl, Annie, growing into womanhood. The first part titled "Notes from the Childhood and Girlhood" includes eleven poems giving glimpses into Annie's birth, her mother, and her reaction to racism

Racism

Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...

, killing, and death. "The Anniad", a mock heroic poem divided into forty-three stanza

Stanza

In poetry, a stanza is a unit within a larger poem. In modern poetry, the term is often equivalent with strophe; in popular vocal music, a stanza is typically referred to as a "verse"...

s and three "Appendix" poems, tells of Annie's dreams of a lover who goes to war, returns to her, marries her, leaves her, and comes back home to die. The last section, "The Womanhood", shows Annie's outlook on a world she would like to change. The book of poetry shows how Annie has changed from an egotistic romantic to a realistic idealist.