Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month: Gabriela Mistral, first Latina to win the Nobel Prize in Literature

Lucila Godoy Alcayaga, born April 7, 1889 in Chile, is best known by her pseudonym Gabriela Mistral, and is the first Latin-American to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature.  When she was 15, she published her first poems in a local newspaper.  

Following several personal tragedies, Mistral channeled her grief into her writing and she produced her first literary work, which was placed first in a national literary contest in Santiago, Chile.  

She released her first book, Desolacion, with aid from Frederico de Onis, the Director of Hispanic Institute of New York in 1922. 

In November 1945, she became the first Latin American and fifth woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Gabriela passed away from pancreatic cancer in New York City in January 1957.

Celebrating Black History Month: Gwendolyn Brooks, first African-American to win Pulitzer Prize

Gwendolyn Brooks, born June 7, 1917 in Topeka, Kansas, was an American poet and author.  She won the Pulitzer Prize Prize for Poetry in May 1950 for her book Annie Allen, making her the first African-American to win the Pulitzer Prize.

Her first book of poetry, A Street in Bronzeville, was published in 1945.  It gained instant critical acclaim.  It was her second book Annie Allen, about the life of a young black girl growing up in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago.  

She won many awards for her poetry over her lifetime.  She passed away in December 2000.