Nikki Giovanni Summary

American poet Yolande Cornelia (Nikki) Giovanni, Jr. (born 1943), initially wrote poetry from a revolutionary African American standpoint in the 1960s, but later moved to more traditional themes and s... Read more

One of the best-known African American poets to reach prominence during the late 1960s and early 1970s, Nikki Giovanni has continued to create poems that encompass a life fully experienced. Her unique... Read more

Nikki Giovanni is an important and extremely popular literary figure who came into prominence on the American scene as one of the most noted poets of the new black renaissance which began in the 1960s... Read more

In the following excerpt, Juhasz reads Giovanni's poetry as a record of her attempts to meld her roles as a black, a woman, and a poet by defining those roles "in terms of two primary fa... Read more

In the following essay, McDowell argues for a more comprehensive criticism of Giovanni's work, claiming that it is generally misinterpreted and poorly assessed due to earlier criticism biased b... Read more

In the following essay, Cook discusses the theme of place in Giovanni's poems, arguing that Giovanni's most important poems are not the early, militant poems, but those which are greatly... Read more

Critical Essay by Sarah Webster Fabio [Black Feeling, Black Talk, Black Judgment] is a record of a time and an involvement and awareness and activism which marks the late Sixties as special. Nikki Gio... Read more

Critical Essay by Paula Giddings [Even though the content of Gemini: An Extended Autobiographical Statement on My First Twenty-Five Years of Being a Black Poet] is contemporary, it is written from a p... Read more

Critical Essay by George E. Kent [My House] by title implies both a kind of freedom to deal in lyrics with things which affect the poet personally and intimately and a projection of the mind and feeli... Read more

In the following review of Racism 101, Crockett argues that Giovanni accurately reflects African-American views on race. Poet Nikki Giovanni is caught up in the past and the future at the same time. I... Read more

In the following review of Gemini, Duffy argues that Giovanni has crafted both a memoir and a manifesto about her life.          I really... Read more

In the following essay based on an interview with Giovanni, Stokes remarks on Giovanni's home and family. "Now don't expect to find me in a fancy mansion," Nikki Giovanni s... Read more

In the interview below, Giovanni offers her views on modern culture and writing. Nikki Giovanni wants to make it clear: "I did not perform in South Africa. I think that's ridiculous. I m... Read more

In the following review of Sacred Cows … and Other Edibles, McDermott criticizes Giovanni's monotony and lack of wit. On February 19th William Morrow and Company will publish what it def... Read more

The poem "Woman" by Nikki Giovanni tells a story of a female who straggles to fuse together her need for self actualization and empowerment, with the socially instilled in her notion about her role as... Read more