Poet

Program Title - An Evening Wtih Nikki Giovanni

Over the past 25 years, Nikki Giovanni's outspokenness, in her writing and in person, has brought the eyes of the world upon her. One of our most widely read American poets, she prides herself on being "A black American, a daughter, a mother, a professor of English."

Despite the dramatic changes that have occurred in American society since she roared out of the Black Arts Movement, Giovanni remains determined and committed as ever to the fight for civil rights and equality in education. Always insistent on presenting the truth, Giovanni maintains her prominent place as a strong voice of the black community through her poetry and prose. Since 1968, she has inspired readers and critics and has established herself as a best-selling poet, author and essayist. In her lectures, she speaks with great humor on her life and on the creativity in everything we do. Her focus is on the individual; specifically, on the power one has to make a difference in oneself, and thus, in the lives of others. "Do something with your life!" Giovanni once told an M.I.T. audience. "You will find that what you have coveted is not worth coveting. There is a limit to what material things can do." The intensity and straightforwardness she conveys is apparent in all of her works and shows the depth of both her thinking and writing.

All but one of her nearly twenty books are still in print, with several having sold more than a hundred thousand copies. These books of poetry and essays include "Black Feeling", "Black Talk/Black Judgment", "The Women and the Men", "Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day", "Those Who Ride the Night Winds", and "Sacred Cows and Other Edibles." In addition, a recording of her poems was one of the best-selling albums in the country. Her book, "Racism 101", includes bold, controversial essays about the situation of Americans on all sides of the race issue. She has also recently illustrated a children's book, "Knoxville, Tennessee", and edited the multicultural anthologies, "Grand/Mothers" and "Grand/Fathers." Her newest book, "Blues: For All the Changes", made the Los Angeles Times Bestseller list. It marks the first time a poet has ever been listed.

Giovanni has received a host of honorary doctorates and published several critically-acclaimed works: "The Selected Poems of Nikki Giovanni", "The Love Poems of Nikki Giovanni", "The Sun Is So Quiet", "The Genie in the Jar And Peppermint Dreams" and "Shimmy Shimmy Shimmy Like My Sister Kate: A Look At the Harlem Renaissance Through Poems." Her most recent CD is "Nikki Giovanni in Philadelphia." She has received many awards, including being named "Woman of the Year" by three different magazines. "Love Poems" was awarded the NAACP Image Award for 1998 and "Blues: For All the Changes" received the same award for 2000.

Beginning in 1987, she has been teaching writing, poetry, and literature at Virginia Tech., where she has been named University Distinguished Professor. As a devoted and passionate writer, teacher and speaker, she inspires not only her students, but also readers and audiences nationwide.