Nikki Giovanni is perhaps best known for forging the use of the lowercase 'i' as a first person singular pronoun, later used by writers such as bell hooks, though really her legacy should be much more than that. Giovanni is one of the most accessible yet still palatable poets I know. Her work is rarely obscure or explicitly erudite, but her themes go beyond greeting card verse.
Giovanni's work spans over a dozen volumes of poetry, though my personal favorite is My House; her fourth book of poetry, it was published in 1972.
3 comments:
I had the pleasure of meeting Nikki G last summer. My House is one of my favorite books, but I covet her album Like a Ripple on a Pond.
Lucky you. I didn't know she had albums. I'll have to look into those.
Her poems were set to traditional Black spirituals. My mom played her albums all the time in the early 70's, and I had the honor of sharing that story with her.
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