Nikki Giovanni was an iconic poet of the 1960s and ‘70s Black Arts Movement who authored more than 30 books.
- Died: December 9, 2024 (Who else died on December 9?)
- Details of death: Died at a hospital in Blacksburg, Virginia of complications from lung cancer at the age of 81.
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Nikki Giovanni’s legacy
Giovanni’s early poetry was inspired by the fight for civil rights and the Black Power Movement. Herself a civil rights activist, she funneled her fiery emotions and militant leanings into her poetry, publishing her first collection, “Black Feeling Black Talk,” in 1968. Her debut and its follow-up, “Black Judgement,” became classics of the Black Arts Movement, including enduring poems like “Nikki-Rosa” and “Knoxville, Tennessee.” A first edition of the book pairing those paperbacks is on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, one of several Giovanni pieces in the museum’s collection.
Another of Giovanni’s best-known poems is “Ego-Tripping (there may be a reason why),” first published in her 1972 collection “My House.” Its bold, brash verses stride through ancient history and across continents with an exultant love of self. The poem was one of several Giovanni set to music in her first album, “Truth Is on Its Way,” recorded with the New York Community Choir. She went on to record several other albums from the 1970s through the 2020s, in addition to her prolific writing. She wrote more than 20 volumes of poetry for adults; the most recent, “Make Me Rain: Poems & Prose,” was published in 2020.
In the early 1970s, Giovanni was a regular contributor to the TV show “Soul!” The variety show focused on Black music, dance, and literature, and Giovanni both appeared on the show and worked as a producer. She was responsible for two of the show’s most memorable episodes when she interviewed author James Baldwin (1924–1987). Their two-hour conversation remains a highlight of Black intellectual communion in the era.
With the birth of her son in 1969, Giovanni began thinking about the importance of writing for young people, and her first children’s book was published in 1971. She wrote more than a dozen books for children, including poetry collections, a biography of Rosa Parks (1913–2005), and stories from history. Her 1996 children’s book, “The Sun Is So Quiet,” won a Parents’ Choice Award, just one of many honors Giovanni received over the years.
Giovanni was an eight-time NAACP Image Award winner, and she received lifetime achievement prizes from the Art Sanctuary, the Library of Virginia, the SHero Award, and other organizations. In 2005, she was listed among Oprah Winfrey’s “25 Living Legends.” She was profiled in the 2023 documentary “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project.”
In addition to her writing, Giovanni was a longtime professor at Virginia Tech, spending 35 years teaching at the college. After the tragic 2007 shooting in which 32 people were killed by a student she had removed from one of her classes two years prior, Giovanni delivered a moving memorial address.
Notable quote
“[W]hen I went to the opening of the African American Museum in D.C, I had forgotten we gave permission to use my poetry. And when I turned a corner, there was a photograph of me. And it brought tears to my eyes. And I turned over my shoulder and said, ‘Look, grandmother, I did my duty.’ And that still amazes me. It’s like she was there. I did my duty and that’s what matters to me.” — from a 2024 interview for NPR’s Wild Card
Tributes to Nikki Giovanni
Full obituary: The New York Times
