Happy 76th birthday to Nikki Giovanni . Poet. writer, activist. Queer icon, Civil rights activist, Educator, Promoter of the Black Power movement.. Born in Knoxville, Tennessee.
In all of her work, she challenges the racial and status quo,providing a poetry guided by a political aesthetic, still dreaming radical dreams of a society more equal for all.
As an African American woman, Nikki Giovanni has written many revolutionary poems reflecting on the culture and heritage of her race. Spending much of her youth growing up in Knoxville, Tennessee, Giovanni’s childhood has greatly influenced her writing. Nikki Giovanni, (Yolande Cornelia Giovanni is her given name) was born June 7, 1943 in Knoxville Tennessee. As a child, she attended an Episcopal school, and when it came time for her to start college, she enrolled at Fisk University. As a freshman, Giovanni was a very rebellious student, ignoring many of the school’s social rules. This attitude led her to suspension from the university before her first year was even completed. However, in 1964 she returned to Fisk, and her writing career began.
Attitude and reality and honesty are all encompassed into the work of this fine artist. Speaking for all those that struggle, and who love fiercely, who places an emphasis on the power of the individual to effect change in his or herself, as well as in others. She reminds me that words are our weapons, that we should not be afraid to use.
Nikki Giovanni doesn't think of writing as a profession. "I barely think of it as a career," she once said . "I think of it as who you are.”To Giovanni, writing comes as naturally as breathing. It has certainly defined her and given her a strong voice. A survivor of cancer, she battles on, sharing her light with the world. Happy birthday to her, blessed be.
Choices
If i can't do
what i want to do
then my job is to not
do what i don't want
to do
It's not the same thing
but it's the best i can
do
If i can't have
what i want . . . then
my job is to want
what i've got
and be satisfied
that at least there
is something more to want
Since i can't go
where i need
to go . . . then i must . . . go
where the signs point
through always understanding
parallel movement
isn't lateral
When i can't express
what i really feel
i practice feeling
what i can express
and none of it is equal
I know
but that's why mankind
alone among the animals
learns to cry .
A Library (for Kelli Martin)
a Library Is:Love is
a place to be free
to be in space
to be in cave times
to be a cook
to be a crook
to be in love
to be unhappy
to be quick and smart
to be contained and cautious
to surf the rainbow
to sail the dreams
to be blue
to be jazz
to be wonderful
to be you
a place to be
yeah… to be
Some people forget that love is
tucking you in and kissing you
“Good night”
no matter how young or old you are
Some people don’t remember that
love is
listening and laughing and asking
questions
no matter what your age
Few recognize that love is
commitment, responsibility
no fun at all
unless
Love is
You and me
Revolutionary Dreams
I used to dream militant dreams
of taking over america to show
these white folks
how it should be done
I used to dream radical dreams
of blowing everyone away
with my perceptive powers
of correct analysis
I even used to think I’d be the one
to stop the riot and
negotiate the peace
then I awoke and dug
that if I dreamed natural
dreams of being a natural
woman doing what a woman
does when she’s natural
I would have a revolution.
