Nikki Giovanni
About the Poet
Poet Nikki Giovanni was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, on June 7, 1943. Although she grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, she and her sister returned to Knoxville each summer to visit their grandparents. Nikki graduated with honors in history from her grandfather's alma mater, Fisk University. Since 1987, she has been on the faculty at Virginia Tech, where she is a University Distinguished Professor. In her own words: "I was asked to do a biography so this is it. I am 71 years old. I highly recommend old age; it’s fun. I have been awarded an unprecedented 7 NAACP Image Awards which makes me very very proud. I have been nominated for a Grammy; been a finalist for the National Book Award. I am very proud to have authored 3 New York Times and Los Angeles Times Best Sellers, highly unusual for a poet. I am a University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech. I don’t have a lot of friends but I have good ones. I have a son and a granddaughter. My father, mother, sister and middle aunt are all deceased literarily making me go from being the baby in the family to being an elder. I like to cook, travel and dream. I’m a writer. I’m happy."
From the author's website
Region
West Central
Virginia City or County Affiliation
Blacksburg, VA
Years of Residence in Virginia
34
Current City/State of Residence
Blacksburg, VA
Gender
Female
Race/Ethnicity
Black or African American
Year of Birth
1943
Keywords/Tags
Black history and culture, Civil rights, The history of Black struggles, Family, Relationships
Website
Published Works or Performances
- Those Who Ride the Night Winds: Poems. William Morrow, 1983.
- Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea: Poems and Not-Quite Poems. William Morrow, 2002.
- The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni, 1968-1998. William Morrow, 2003.
- Acolytes. William Marrow, 2007.
- Bicycles: Love Poems. Harper Collins, 2009.
- Chasing Utopia: A Hybrid. William Marrow, 2013.
- Make Me Rain: Poems & Prose,.William Marrow, 2020.
Selected Individual Poems or Performances
- Ego Tripping (there may be a reason why, 1968.
- A Journey, 2003.
- Resignation, 2003.
- Knoxville, Tennessee, 1968.
- Quilts, 2019.
Nikki Giovanni