Nikki Giovanni
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Biography
Nikki Giovanni (1943-2024)
Nikki Giovanni was an American poet, writer, activist, educator, and pivotal figure in the Black Arts movmeent of the 1960s and ‘70s. Giovanni grew up in Knoxville Tennessee and Cincinatti, Ohio. In 1960 she entered Fisk University in Nashville. She would receive a degree in history and become committed to the Civil Rights Movement and Black empowerment. Her first three poetry collections, Black Feeling Black Talk (1968), Black Judgement (1969) and Re: Creation (1970) were deliberately influenced by the Black power movement. In 1969, Giovanni began raising a son as a single mother, which introduced new themes into her works. She published collections of poems for children, including Spin a Soft Black Song (1971) and Ego-Tripping (1973). Her autobiography, Gemini, was a finalist for the 1973 National Book Award. She returned to socio-political themes in Those Who Ride the Night in 1983. In her life, she published more than two dozen volumes of essays, anthologies, children’s books and poems, as well as the Emmy-award winning album, The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection (2004). Giovanni taught at several universities along the east coast and midwest, including Virginia Tech, where she was a University Distinguished Professor.
Giovanni’s work is an artistic revolution that explores the intersections of race, gender and sexuality, as well as the African American family. Giovanni also fervently uplifted other Black female writers by editing and publishing their works in anthologies. Giovanni died in late 2024 following a three-decade cancer battle, and is survived by her son, granddaughter, and wife.
Sources: https://www.britannica.com/art/African-American-literature