12/13/12

Poets.org - Poetry , Poems, Bios & More

Nikki Giovanni
O n June 7, 1943, Yolanda C orne lia "Nik k i" Giovanni was born in Knox ville , Te nne sse e and raise d in C incinnati, O hio. In 1960, she e nte re d Fisk Unive rsity in Nashville , Te nne sse e , whe re she work e d with the school's W rite r's W ork shop and e dite d the lite rary m agazine . Afte r re ce iving he r bache lor of arts de gre e in 1967, she organize d the Black Arts Fe stival in C incinnati be fore e nte ring graduate school at the Unive rsity of Pe nnsylvania and C olum bia Unive rsity. In he r first two colle ctions, Black Feeling, Black Talk (1968) and Black Judgement (1969), Giovanni re fle cts on the African-Am e rican ide ntity. R e ce ntly, she has publishe d Bicycles: Love Poems (W illiam Morrow, 2009); Acolytes (Harpe rC ollins, 2007); The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni: 1968-1998 (2003); Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea: Poems and Not-Quite Poems (2002); Blues For All the Changes: New Poems (1999); Love Poems (1997); and Selected Poems of Nikki Giovanni (1996). A lung cance r survivor, Giovanni has also contribute d an introduction to the anthology Breaking the Silence: Inspirational Stories of Black Cancer Survivors (Hilton

Publishing, 2005).

He r honors include thre e NAAC P Im age Awards for Lite rature in 1998, the Langston Hughe s award for Distinguishe d C ontributions to Arts and Le tte rs in 1996, as we ll as m ore than twe nty honorary de gre e s from national colle ge s and unive rsitie s. She has be e n give n k e ys to m ore than a doze n citie s, including Ne w York , Los Ange le s, Dallas, Miam i, and Ne w O rle ans. Se ve ral m agazine s have nam e d Giovanni W om an of the Ye ar, including Essence, Mademoiselle, Ebony, and Ladies Home Journal. She was the first re cipie nt of the R osa Park s W om an of C ourage Award. She has se rve d as poe try judge for the National Book Awards and was a finalist for a Gram m y Award in the cate gory of Spok e n W ord. She is curre ntly Profe ssor of English and Gloria D. Sm ith Profe ssor of Black Studie s at Virginia Te ch, whe re she has taught since 1987.

2 0 1 2 , A c ademy of A meric an P oets . A ll Rights Res erved.

www.poets.org/printpoet.php/prmPID/173

1/1