Nikki Giovanni

BLACK POWER! This exclamation was prominent during the Black Arts Movement, a period in the mid- 1900’s when black art, literature, and music was on a major rise. From the Black Arts Movement arose many influential writers. One of the most critically acclaimed, impactful, and powerful writers that began a reign during the Black Arts Movement was Nikki Giovanni. Giovanni received much criticism during this time for her controversial literature, but presenting continues to create literary works that are appreciated and widely acknowledged throughout the literary canon. Nikki Giovanni interprets the major events of her life and dramatically changing society around her into controversial literature that grasps much criticism, while also enticing readers of various gender, race, and economic status.

Yolanda Cornelia Giovanni, more famously known as Nikki Giovanni was born June 7, 1943 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Giovanni was the younger of two daughters and while growing up in Cincinnati she often traveled back to Knoxville to visit her close-knit family. In her early years Nikki Giovanni was thrust into the black culture and “gained an intense appreciation for her African-American heritage from her outspoken grandmother” (). Once in a personal interview Giovanni proclaimed that her biggest inspiration was her “grandmother and those wonderful women of her time” (). Nikki Giovanni idolized her grandmother for her strength, influence, and outspokenness. Her grandmother provided Giovanni with an “intense appreciation for her African-American heritage” which allowed her to discover her poetic voice and writing potential.

Throughout her grades school years Nikki Giovanni flourished and with the guidance of many teachers she “enrolled early...

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...r twenty honorary degrees from colleges and universities around the country.” (po). Nikki Giovanni even has a species of bat named after her, the Micronycteris giovanniae and taught at Virginia Tech during the tragic shooting in 2007.

It is overly apparent that Nikki Giovanni has lived a rich life and readers appreciate the experiences she uses as inspiration for her poetry. The Black Arts Movement was a pivotal time period in Nikki Giovanni’s life and it provided her with the opportunity to be supported in her political, racial, and spiritual views. Nikki Giovanni’s creative and astute poetry attests to her own evolving awareness and experiences. From a child to young woman, naive college freshman to an accomplished civil rights activist, even from daughter to mother Nikki Giovanni has captured readers by her every changing world and they are completely inveigled.