From AudioFile
Nikki Giovanni blends the personal with the political in this engaging collection of poems written over 40 years, from the 1960s through 2002. They are poems that make one laugh and make one think. "Train Rides" celebrates the care received as a child from Pullman porters when she rode the train alone and sorrows over the generation of proud black men now in jail instead of on the job. "Hands: For Mother's Day" applauds the comfort and care offered by women's hands while prodding conventional wisdom --man didn't learn to walk upright to chase prey; woman learned to walk upright to carry the baby and the toddler and all the other provisions. Of course! Throughout, Giovanni shares thought-provoking stories about what led to the poems. She talks and reads fast, at first, almost too fast. Halfway through the first cassette, however, she slows down and gives the listener time to consider her words. An audiobook to be savored. A.C.S. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Book Description

In a career that has spanned over three decades, Nikki Giovanni has perceptively recorded her observations of both the outside world and the gentle yet enigmatic territory of the self. When her poems first emerged from the Civil Rights and Black Arts Movements of the 1960s, she immediately became a celebrated and controversial literary figure. One of the most commanding voices to grace America's political and poetic landscape, Nikki Giovanni's poems embody the fearless passion and spirited wit for which she is beloved and revered.

From the sublime "Ego Tripping" to the tender "My House," Nikki Giovanni's mind-speaking, truth-telling poems compassionately evoke our nation's past, present, and future.

Read by Nikki Giovanni.

About the Author
When Nikki Giovanni's poems first emerged during the Civil Rights, Black Power and Black Arts Movements in the 1960s, she immediately took a place among the most celebrated and influential poets of the era. Now, more than 30 years later, Nikki Giovanni still stands as one of the most commanding, luminous voices to grace America's political and poetic landscape.Poet, activist, mother and professor Nikki Giovanni was born June 7, 1943, in Knoxville, Tennessee.While a student at Fisk University, she re-established the campus's Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) Chapter in 1965. In New York, 1968, after studying at University of Pennsylvania's School of Social Work and Columbia University's School of Fine Arts and, she self-published her first volume of poetry Black Feeling, Black Talk. Over the span of 30 years as a poet, Ms. Giovanni has received nineteen honorary degrees from colleges and universities including, Fisk University, Smith College, Indiana University, Delaware State University, and University of Maryland. Her numerous awards include Woman of the Year for Ebony, Mademoiselle, Essence, and Ladies Home Journal magazines; YWCA Woman of the Year, Cincinnati Chapter; Outstanding Woman of Tennessee Award; Ohio Women's Hall of Fame induction; Distinguished Recognition Award, Detroit City Council; McDonald's Literary Achievement Award for Poetry presented in the name of Nikki Giovanni in perpetuity; Outstanding Humanitarian Award, The House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Kentucky; two Tennessee Governor's Award in the Arts and in the Humanities; the Virginia Governor's Award; and two NAACP Image Awards for Love Poems and Blues: For All the Changes. Ms. Giovanni has been given the keys to more than a dozen cities, including New York City, Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami, New Orleans, and Baltimore. Most recently, she was named the first recipient of the Rosa Parks Woman of Courage Award.Nikki Giovanni is the author of 16 books of poetry for adults and children including the seminal Black Feeling, Black Talk/Black Judgement, Re: Creation, My House, The Women and the Men, Those Who Ride the Night Winds, The Selected Poems of Nikki Giovanni, Love Poems and her most recent Blues: For All the Changes. Nikki is University Distinguished Professor/English at Virginia Tech. She continues to read her work all over the country.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In a career that has spanned over three decades, Nikki Giovanni has perceptively recorded her observations of both the outside world and the gentle yet enigmatic territory of the self. When her poems first emerged from the Civil Rights and Black Arts Movements of the 1960s, she immediately became a celebrated and controversial literary figure. One of the most commanding voices to grace America's political and poetic landscape, Nikki Giovanni's poems embody the fearless passion and spirited wit for which she is beloved and revered.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

Giovanni's readily accessible, politically charged poems would not seem to need commentary, yet her precise, illuminating, and sometimes witty introductions make this tape a treat. She details the inspiration as well as the process, often repeating what is said in the poems themselves but more often elaborating (most fascinating in her tribute to Rosa Parks or the Million Man March). On the page, much of Giovanni's writing seems rhetorical; hearing her read, dogma is replaced by passion. Her rhythmic voice can be heard in the comments, giving new shape to the poetry's structure. She also travels back to the tradition familiar from the works of Gwendolyn Brooks and Langston Hughes, presenting some very simple (but not simplistic) rhymes, almost as an intermission. This well-edited selection takes care to include poems that reach out to all listeners, not only those who identify with the African American experience. Highly recommended.-Rochelle Ratner, formerly with "Soho Weekly News," New York

AudioFile