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{{Infobox Writer |
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| name = Nikki Giovanni |
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| image = niki-giovanni.jpg |
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| imagesize = 200px |
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| caption = |
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| pseudonym = |
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| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1943|6|7}} |
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| birth_place = {{flagicon|Tennessee}} [[Knoxville, Tennessee]] |
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| death_date = |
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| death_place = |
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| occupation = [[writer]], [[poet]], [[activism|activist]] |
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| nationality = {{USA}} |
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| period = [[1960s]]-present |
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| movement = |
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debut_works = |
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| influences = |
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| website = [http://www.nikki-giovanni.com/ www.nikki-giovanni.com] |
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| footnotes = }} |
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'''Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni''' (born [[June 7]], [[1943]] in [[Knoxville, Tennessee]]) is a [[Grammy Award|Grammy]]-nominated [[United States|American]] [[poet]], activist and author. Giovanni is currently a Distinguished Professor of English at the [[Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University]].<ref name=ngtimeline/> |
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==Life== |
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Nikki Giovanni was born June 7, 1943 in Knoxville, Tennessee to Yolande Cornelia, Sr. and Jones "Gus" Giovanni. Her father's lineage is obscure, but Giovanni believes that he is "descended from slaves owned by an Italian slaveowner."<ref>[http://www.metropulse.com/articles/2007/17_12/gamut.shtml Knoxville's Metro Pulse article]</ref> She grew up in [[Lincoln Heights, Ohio|Lincoln Heights]], a suburb of [[Cincinnati, Ohio]], and in 1960 began her studies at [[Fisk University]] in [[Nashville, Tennessee]], her grandfather's alma mater. She graduated in 1967 with honors, receiving a B.A. in history. Afterwards she went on to attend the [[University of Pennsylvania]] and [[Columbia University]]. In 1969 Giovanni began teaching at [[Livingston College (Rutgers University)|Livingston College]] of [[Rutgers University]]. |
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Giovanni gave birth to Thomas Watson Giovanni, her only child, on August 31, 1969<ref name=PCOLOhioana>[http://www.ohioana-authors.org/giovanni/highlights.php Ohioana Authors. "Nikki Giovanni: Highlights of a Life"]</ref> while visiting Cincinnati for Labor Day Weekend.<ref name=ngtimeline>[http://nikki-giovanni.com/timeline.shtml Nikki Giovanni's Official Website], Biography Timeline</ref> She later stated that she had a child out of wedlock at twenty-five because she "wanted to have a baby and I could afford to have a baby" and because of her conviction that marriage as an institution was inhospitable to women and would never play a role in her life.<ref name=PCOLOhioana /> After her son's birth, Giovanni rearranged her priorities around him and has stated that she would give her life for him. "I just can't imagine living without him. But I can live without the revolution, without world socialism, women's lib...I have a child. My responsibilities have changed."<ref name=PCOLConversations>''Conversations with Nikki Giovanni'' University Press of Mississippi (December 1992). page 66</ref> |
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Both Giovanni's mother and sister died of [[lung cancer]]<ref name=PCOLBlackexpress /> and in 1995 Giovanni herself was diagnosed with the disease.She had surgery at Jewish Hospital in Cincinnati<ref name=PCOLOhioana /> and eventually had a lung removed.<ref name="post">[http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A20617-2004Feb6?language=printer For Poet Nikki Giovanni, a State of Grace] ''The Washington Post'', February 7, 2004</ref> Giovanni gave up smoking after she was diagnosed, saying in 1996 that she now smokes in her dreams.<ref name=PCOLNytimes2 /> She also denies the fact that her cancer has made her a better person, adding that "if it takes a near-death experience for you to appreciate your life, you're wasting somebody's time."<ref name=PCOLNytimes2>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B05E3DC143FF932A3575BC0A960958260 New York Times. "Defying Evil, and Mortality" by Felicia R. Lee. August 1, 1996]</ref> In 1999, Giovanni said she would like to negotiate a truce with her cancer, stating that she'd "like an agreement that we will live together for another 30 years."<ref name=PCOLCincinnati>[http://www.enquirer.com/columns/pulfer/1999/06/03/lp_poet_nikki_giovannis.html Cincinnati Enquirer. "Poet Nikki Giovanni's art not for sissies" by Laura Pulper. June 3, 1999.]</ref> In 2005 Giovanni contributed an introduction to the book ''Breaking the Silence: Inspirational Stories of Black Cancer Survivors''.<ref name=PCOLBlackexpress>[http://www.blackpressusa.com/news/Article.asp?SID=3&Title=National+News&NewsID=12339 Nikki Giovanni simply an 'acolyte'], BlackPressUSA</ref> |
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[[Image:2007 Virginia Tech massacre - Nikki Giovanni speaks.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Giovanni speaks to a group of mourners at [[Cassell Coliseum]] following the [[Virginia Tech massacre]]]] |
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Giovanni has been teaching writing and literature at Virginia Tech in [[Blacksburg, VA]] since [[1987]], and is a Distinguished Professor of English. Giovanni taught the Virginia Tech shooter [[Seung-Hui Cho]] in a poetry class. She described him as downright "mean" and, when she approached the department chair to have Cho taken out of her class, said she was willing to resign rather than continue teaching him.<ref name="cho">[http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/18/vtech.shooting/index.html Police: Cho taken to mental health center in 2005]</ref> On April 17, 2007, at the Virginia Tech Convocation commemorating the April 16 [[Virginia Tech massacre]], Giovanni closed the ceremony with a chant poem, intoning,: |
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{{cquote|"We are sad today, and we will be sad for quite a while. We are not moving on. We are embracing our mourning. We are Virginia Tech... We do not understand this tragedy... No one deserves a tragedy."}} She also claimed that she immediately suspected that Cho might be the shooter when she heard about the shooting, and would have been shocked otherwise.<ref name="cho">[http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/18/vtech.shooting/index.html Police: Cho taken to mental health center in 2005]</ref> |
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On August 21, 2007 ''The Tennessean'' reported that Giovanni is returning to her alma mater as a distinguished visiting professor at Fisk University.<ref name=PCOLTennessee>[http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070821/NEWS01/708210344/1001 ''The Tennessean''. "Poet Giovanni returns to Fisk" by Colby Sledge. August 21, 2007.]</ref> As well as teaching a writers workshop for about thirty students one day a week, Giovanni also wants to hold a workshop for the general public in order to reach out to the community.<ref name=PCOLTennessee /> She will maintain her position at Virginia Tech. |
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==Writing career== |
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[[Image:Nikki Giovanni.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Nikki Giovanni (2007)]]The [[American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)|civil rights]] and [[black power]] movements inspired her early poetry that was collected in ''Black Feeling, Black Talk'' (1967), ''Black Judgement'' (1968), and ''Re: Creation'' (1970). She has since written more than two dozen books including volumes of poetry, illustrated children's books, and three collections of essays. |
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Giovanni's writing has been heavily inspired by [[African American]] activists and artists. She has a tattoo with the words "Thug life" to honor [[Tupac Shakur]], whom she admired.<ref>''Nikki Giovanni - Spotlight - Interview'' December 2003, Ebony.</ref><ref>''Poet, Tupac capture beauty beneath pain'' 5 April, 1997. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The.</ref> Her book ''Love Poems'' (1997) was written in memory of him, and she has stated that she would "rather be with the thugs than the people who are complaining about them."<ref>[http://www.barnesandnoble.com/flash/vd.asp?PID=12012&aud=1&%7Bslinkprefix%7D&nav=1 Barnes and Noble, Meet the Authors] audio</ref> She also tours nationwide and frequently speaks out against hate-motivated violence. At a 1999 Martin Luther King Day event, she recalled the 1998 murders of [[James Byrd, Jr.]] and [[Matthew Shepard]]: "What's the difference between dragging a black man behind a truck in Jasper, Texas, and beating a white boy to death in Wyoming because he's gay?"<ref>[http://www.umich.edu/~urecord/9899/Jan25_99/keynote.htm Giovanni tells students to 'sail on'], University of Michigan's ''The University Record'', January 25, 1999</ref> |
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''Those Who Ride the Night Winds'' (1983) acknowledged notable black figures. Giovanni collected her essays in the 1988 volume ''Sacred Cows...and Other Edibles''. Her most recent works include ''Acolytes'' and ''On My Journey Now''. |
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In 2004 Giovanni was nominated for the [[Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album]] at the [[46th Annual Grammy Awards]] for her album "The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection." She also featured on the track ''Ego Trip By Nikki Giovanni'' on [[Blackalicious]]' 2000 album ''[[Nia (album)|Nia]]''. |
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==Bibliography== |
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*''Black Feeling, Black Talk'' (1967) |
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*''Black Judgement'' (1968) |
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*''Re: Creation'' (1970) |
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*''Poem of [[Angela Yvonne Davis]]'' (1970) ''(Illustrated by Charles Bible)'' |
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*''My House'' (1972) |
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*''The Women and The Men'' (1975) |
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*''The Women Gather'' (1975) Broadside |
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*''Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day'' (1978) |
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*''Those Who Ride The Night Winds'' (1983) |
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*''Spin a Soft Black Song'' (1987) |
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*''Sacred Cows and Other Edibles'' (1988) |
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*''Ego-Tripping and Other Poems for Young People'' (1993) |
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*''Racism 101'' (1994) |
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*''Shimmy Shimmy Shimmy Like My Sister Kate: Looking At The [[Harlem Renaissance]] Through Poems''(1996) |
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*''The Selected Poems of Nikki Giovanni |
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==References== |
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{{Reflist|2}} |
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==External links== |
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* [http://www.nikki-giovanni.com/ Giovanni's website] |
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* [http://www.thelavinagency.com/college/nikkigiovanni.html Profile at Lavin] |
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* [http://www.poets.org/ngiov Poems, Essays and Biography for Nikki Giovanni] |
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* [http://openvault.wgbh.org/saybrother/MLA001046/index.html: "Interview with poet Nikki Giovanni"] for the WGBH series [http://openvault.wgbh.org/series/Say+Brother/ Say Brother] |
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* [http://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/giovanni Video interview with Nikki Giovanni] |
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* "We are Virginia Tech" - convocation poem read by Giovanni |
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**[http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?g=9a12aa0c-466c-41c7-9933-af2636de0309&f=00&fg=copy MSNBC video] |
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**[http://filebox.vt.edu/users/news/convocation_giovanni.mp3 MP3 Audio] |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Giovanni, Nikki}} |
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[[Category:Virginia Tech massacre]] |
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[[Category:1943 births]] |
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[[Category:Living people]] |
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[[Category:American poets]] |
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[[Category:African American poets]] |
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[[Category:Writers from Cincinnati]] |
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[[Category:People from Knoxville, Tennessee]] |
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[[Category:Tennessee writers]] |
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[[Category:Cancer survivors]] |
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[[Category:Fisk University alumni]] |
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[[Category:Virginia Tech faculty]] |
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Revision as of 14:36, 18 March 2008
she look like a frekin man