Maud Martha

Maud Martha (1953) is a fictional narrative by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gwendolyn Brooks. The book is written in an experimental style combining poetic language and a nonlinear narrative. Each chapter is a vignette, a quick glimpse into an everyday scene in the life of the title character. Brooks’s only novel, Maud Martha was praised for its depiction of ordinary people and everyday life in Chicago. This guide is based upon the 1993 Third World Press edition of the novel.

Plot Summary

The novel opens with Maud at age seven. She’s a dark-skinned African American girl who loves simple beauties in life because they comfort her; if something as common as a dandelion can be beautiful, it gives Maud hope that she can be beautiful as well. A series of vignettes introduce Maud’s family: her older sister Helen, her mother Belva, her working-class father Mr. Brown, and her brother Harry. Maud envies Helen for her light skin and dainty mannerisms, and comparisons between the two sisters continue throughout the novel. Maud’s father struggles to make mortgage payments for the family’s home, but Maud still considers him a good provider for the family.