We Real Cool

"We Real Cool" is a poem written in 1959 by poet Gwendolyn Brooks and published in her 1960 book The Bean Eaters, her third collection of poetry.

In an interview Brooks stated that her inspiration for the poem came from her walking in her community and passing a pool hall full of boys.

The unique structure offers a subtitle at the beginning of the poem where Brooks writes "The Pool Players / Seven at the Golden Shovel".

It is referenced in the song "We Real Cool" by the band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds on their 2013 album Push the Sky Away.

The poem is referenced as the title of bell hooks's book We Real Cool: Black Men and Masculinity.