Note—No new blog posts were made since Wednesday, February 22 because an ice
storm in McHenry County caused a power outage here which was not restored until
late Thursday afternoon. Sorry for the
inconvenience to regular readers.
Nikki Giovanni was born in 1943
in Knoxville, Tennessee in a closeknit family. She was inspired
by her grandmother, a natural storyteller, to explore the use of words. After growing up in a middle class Black suburb
of Columbus, Ohio, she attended Fisk University in Nashville, one of the most prestigious
of the historically Black colleges.
At
Fisk not only did she find her voice as
a poet and writer, but she was immersed
in the Civil Rights Movement and the
growing militancy of the emerging Black Power. She served as editor of the campus literary
magazine, participated in the Fisk
Writers Workshop, and helped re-build
the Fisk chapter of the Student
Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). After graduation
in turbulent 1968 Giovanni went on
to graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University in New York.
While
still an undergraduate Giovanni published
her first collection of poetry, Black Feeling, Black Talk in 1967 in response to the assassinations of Martin Luther King,
Jr., Malcolm X, Medgar Evers, and Robert Kennedy. A year later
she followed up with Black Judgment, an exploration
and appreciation of Black
militancy. The two books catapulted her
into the front ranks of a new
generation of poets and one who had appeal
to wider audiences. A third volume, Re: Creation
published in 1970 cemented her place as a leading
young Black voice. She soon embarked on popular readings, often incorporating Black music.
Giovanni took a teaching position at Rutgers
University and gave birth to her son Thomas. She worked to help other Black writers find
outlets through NikTom, Ltd., a publishing cooperative which issued Gwendolyn Brooks, Margaret Walker, Carolyn
Rodgers, and Mari Evans.
As Giovanni
matured as a poet and woman her interests broadened. She continued to write in clear, accessible language about her life and experiences, but later work
was not as explicitly political as
her early efforts.
She
also began writing for children and young people beginning with Spin a Soft Black Song in 1971 and continuing through her Caldecott Medal winning Rosa in
2005.
Giovanni
was teaching at Virginia Tech in
2007 when the tragic shooting occurred
there. She composed a memorial chant that was recited at the campus memorial service the next day.
She
has written dozens of books, including two compilations, and non-fiction
work. Giovanni is among the most honored
of contemporary poets having received the NAACP
Image Award, the Langston Hughes
Award for Distinguished Contributions to Arts and Letters, the Rosa Parks Women of Courage Award, and
over twenty honorary degrees from
colleges and universities around the country.
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Poem for a Lady Whose Voice I Like
so he said: you ain’t got no talent
if you didn’t have a face
you wouldn't be nobody
and she said: god created heaven and earth
and all that’s Black within them
so he said: you ain’t really no hot shit
they tell me plenty sisters
take care better business than you
and she said: on the third day he made chitterlings
and all good things to eat
and said: “that’s good.”
so he said: if the white folks hadn’t been under
yo skirt and been giving you the big play
you'd a had to come on uptown like everybody else
and she replied: then he took a big Black greasy rib
from adam and said we will call this woeman and her
name will be sapphire and she will divide into four parts
that simone may sing a song
and he said: you pretty full of yourself ain’t chu
so she replied: show me someone not full of herself
and I’ll show you a hungry person
—Nikki Giovanni
A Historical Footnote to Consider Only When All Else
Fails
(For Barbara Crosby)
While it is true
(though only in a factual sense)
That in the wake of a
Her-I-can comes a
Shower
Surely I am not
The gravitating force
that keeps this house
full of panthers
Why, LBJ has made it
quite clear to me
He doesn’t give a
Good goddamn what I think
(else why would he continue to masterbate in public?)
Rhythm and Blues is not
The downfall of a great civilization
And I expect you to
Realize
That the Temptations
have no connection with
The CIA
We must move on to
the true issues of
Our time
like the mini-skirt
Rebellion
And perhaps take a
Closer look at
Flour power
It is for Us
to lead our people
out of the
Wein-Bars
into the streets
into the streets
(for safety reasons only)
Lord knows we don’t
Want to lose the
support
of our Jewish friends
So let us work
for our day of Presence
When Stokely is in
The Black House
And all will be right with
Our World
—Nikki Giovanni
Kidnap Poem
Ever been
kidnapped
by a poet
if i were a poet
I’d kidnap you
put you in my phrases and meter
You to jones beach
or maybe coney island
or maybe just to my house
lyric you in lilacs
dash you in the rain
blend into the beach
to complement my see
Play the lyre for you
ode you with my love song
anything to win you
wrap you in the red Black green
show you off to mama
yeah if i were a poet I’d kid
nap you
—Nikki Giovanni
Choices
If i can’t do
what i want to do
then my job is to not
do what i don’t want
to do
It’s not the same thing
but it's the best i can
do
If i can’t have
what i want . . . then
my job is to want
what I’ve got
and be satisfied
that at least there
is something more to want
Since i can’t go
where i need
to go . . . then i must . . . go
where the signs point
through always understanding
parallel movement
isn’t lateral
When i can't express
what i really feel
i practice feeling
what i can express
and none of it is equal
I know
but that’s why mankind
alone among the animals
learns to cry
—Nikki Giovanni
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