What does Kitchenette building mean?

The narrow corridor of apartment buildings and houses along State Street could not hope to hold the explosion of skilled and unskilled workers who moved to the city during World War II; one solution was to chop existing houses and apartments into ever smaller units, called “kitchenettes.” These single rooms or series …

When was kitchenette building published?

1945
Poet Gwendolyn Brooks eloquently evoked the ambiance of these buildings in “kitchenette building,” published in her first, award-winning collection, A Street in Bronzeville (1945). Drake, St.

What is the tone of the poem kitchenette building?

By: Gwendolyn Brooks The tone of this poem is more dull, and unexciting because she wants the reader to understand that life in a Kitchenette Building was not fun nor exciting. There was not really much of a life living in those circumstances, but African American’s had no say in what they wanted.

Who is the speaker of the poem kitchenette building?

Speaker. The speaker of this poem lives in one of the Chicago kitchenette buildings from the 1930s. Rather than narrate the poem from the first person (“I”), Brooks chooses to use the first person plural pe…

Where did the poem kitchenette building come from?

‘ kitchenette building’ is based around Brook’s own experiences in Chicago living in small housing complexes and in the very kitchenette buildings that she mentions in the poem. A “kitchenette” was a tiny apartment that was created by dividing up already existing apartments. This meant that the living space was very minimal.

What was the purpose of the kitchenette building?

These single rooms or series of small rooms, often rented at high profit by predatory landlords, housed entire families who shared kitchens, bathrooms, and much else. They were cramped microcosms of the circumscribed lives endured by most African Americans at the time.

When did Gwendolyn Brooks publish the kitchenette building?

Gwendolyn Brooks, “kitchenette building” from Selected Poems, published by Harper & Row. Copyright © 1963 by Gwendolyn Brooks. Reprinted by consent of Brooks Permissions. Source: Selected Poems (Harper & Row, 1963)

How big is a kitchenette in New York City?

New York City building code defines a kitchenette as a kitchen of less than 7.4 m 2 (80 ft 2) of floor space.