Nikki Giovanni, the trailblazing poet, artist, educator and lifelong activist known as the “Princess of Black Poetry,” died Monday, December 9, at a hospital in Blacksburg, Virginia. She was 81 years old. Giovanni’s publicist told local reporters that she died of complications from lung cancer with her wife, Virginia “Ginny” Fowler, by her side.
She was born Yolande Cornelia Giovanni Jr. on June 7, 1943, in Knoxville, Tennessee, and grew up between her birthplace and Ohio, where she attended Fisk University, graduated in 1967. The year after her grandmother died and Martin Luther King was assassinated, she began writing poetry to deal with her grief. Giovanni went on to publish more than 20 books of poetry and a dozen illustrated children’s books, winning numerous awards, including the inaugural Rosa Parks Award for Women of Courage in 2002. Her best known works include her first three collections of poetry, black feeling, black talking (1968), black trial (1968) and Reply:Create (1970), a work inspired by her key role in the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, when black American intellectuals and artists across a variety of disciplines used their work to celebrate African American culture and Created new community spaces focused on self-development. determination.
It was also during this period that Giovanni had a historic multi-topic conversation on public television with the author James Baldwin soul! The series was originally filmed in London in 1971 and was later transcribed and adapted into a collaborative book dialogue (1973), and continues to resonate decades later for its illuminating questions and candid commentary on topics such as race, gender, and politics.
“Nikki Giovanni was an educator, activist, and iconic poet who challenged us to examine love, revolution, and what it means to be human—while making a lasting impression on everyone who met her (including me) It’s a beacon of light,” said director Joy Bivins. The Schomburg Center for Black Cultural Studies in New York City tells us allergic.
“We each have a piece of Nikki Giovanni that we value that not only lifts our spirits but reminds us to use our voices to make a difference,” Bivens said.
In 2023, Giovanni was the subject of a biographical documentary by Michelle Stephenson and Joe Brewster Traveling to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project. The poet made headlines earlier this year when she joined fellow filmmaker and writer Doreen St. Félix in boycotting a scheduled screening of the film at the Brooklyn Museum and discussion to protest the agency and its project partner, PEN America, for allegedly Remain silent on Israel’s continued attacks on Palestine.
“I stand with the producers and understand the pain. I hope that peace and prayers for peace will be answered,” Giovanni told allergic March.
In addition to her poetry and activism, Giovanni is widely recognized for her works for children, including an illustrated biography Rosa (2005) about civil rights activist Rosa Parks, whom Giovanni knew personally. She has also written non-fiction and essays, edited anthologies, and created several recordings combining spoken word poetry with music, e.g. The truth is on the way (1971), like ripples in a pond (1973), and my feelings (1975). Recently, Giovanni posted Make Me Rain: Poems and Virtuese (2020), which celebrates her black heritage while also delves into the lasting impact of racism and white nationalism. Her last collection of poems, last bookexpected to be released next year.
“My dream wasn’t to be published or even to be a writer: my dream was to discover things that no one else had thought of. I guess that’s why I became a poet. We put things together in ways that no one else has,” Giovanni wrote on her website.
In addition to her literary contributions, Giovanni held faculty positions at Rutgers University and Queens College, and then worked at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, where she met Fowler, who became her lifelong partner. The couple later married in 2016.
Her commitment to advocacy inspired artist Robert Shetterly to paint her portrait for his work. Americans who tell the truth series (2002-present), honoring America’s truth-tellers past and present. Shetley told allergic He included her in his project “because of her fearless insistence on telling the truth about racism and misogyny in this country.”
“The power and precision of her words were like an arrow shooting into our stubborn, unawakened hearts,” Shetterly said.
In addition to Fowler, Giovanni reportedly leaves behind her only child, Thomas Watson Giovanni, and a granddaughter. new york times.
“We mourn this profound loss and take comfort in knowing that Nikki Giovanni’s incredible words are a legacy that will continue to heal, delight and inspire for generations to come,” Bivens said.
