Nikki Giovanni’s Followers (1,411)

Nikki Giovanni

Born

in Knoxville, Tennessee, The United States

June 07, 1943

Died

December 09, 2024

Website

http://www.nikki-giovanni.com/

Genre

Poetry, Politics, Children's Books

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Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni Jr. was an American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. One of the world's most well-known African-American poets, her work includes poetry anthologies, poetry recordings, and nonfiction essays, and covers topics ranging from race and social issues to children's literature. She won numerous awards, including the Langston Hughes Medal and the NAACP Image Award. She was nominated for a Grammy Award for her poetry album, The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection. Additionally, she was named as one of Oprah Winfrey's 25 "Living Legends". Giovanni was a member of The Wintergreen Women Writers Collective.
Giovanni gained initial fame in the late 1960s as one of the foremost authors of the Black Arts Mov Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni Jr. was an American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. One of the world's most well-known African-American poets, her work includes poetry anthologies, poetry recordings, and nonfiction essays, and covers topics ranging from race and social issues to children's literature. She won numerous awards, including the Langston Hughes Medal and the NAACP Image Award. She was nominated for a Grammy Award for her poetry album, The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection. Additionally, she was named as one of Oprah Winfrey's 25 "Living Legends". Giovanni was a member of The Wintergreen Women Writers Collective.
Giovanni gained initial fame in the late 1960s as one of the foremost authors of the Black Arts Movement. Influenced by the Civil Rights Movement and Black Power Movement of the period, her early work provides a strong, militant African-American perspective, leading one writer to dub her the "Poet of the Black Revolution". During the 1970s, she began writing children's literature, and co-founded a publishing company, NikTom Ltd, to provide an outlet for other African-American women writers. Over subsequent decades, her works discussed social issues, human relationships, and hip hop. Poems such as "Knoxville, Tennessee" and "Nikki-Rosa" have been frequently re-published in anthologies and other collections.
Giovanni received numerous awards and holds 27 honorary degrees from various colleges and universities. She was also given the key to over two dozen cities. Giovanni was honored with the NAACP Image Award seven times. One of her more unique honors was having a South America bat species, Micronycteris giovanniae, named after her in 2007.
Giovanni was proud of her Appalachian roots and worked to change the way the world views Appalachians and Affrilachians.
Giovanni taught at Queens College, Rutgers, and Ohio State, and was a University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech until September 1, 2022. After the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007, she delivered a chant-poem at a memorial for the shooting victims. ...more

Combine Editions
Nikki Giovanni’s books

Average rating: 4.25 · 30,226 ratings · 4,039 reviews · 161 distinct works • Similar authors

	Rosa by Nikki Giovanni, Bryan Collier (Illustrator) 4.36 avg rating — 6,862 ratings — published 2005 — 24 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Love Poems 4.19 avg rating — 2,888 ratings — published 1997 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Collected Poetry, 1968-1998 4.41 avg rating — 1,696 ratings — published 2003 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Good Cry: What We Learn From Tears and Laughter 4.19 avg rating — 1,578 ratings — published 2017 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Make Me Rain: Poems & Prose 4.22 avg rating — 1,544 ratings — published 2020 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Library by Nikki Giovanni, Erin K. Robinson (Illustrator) 4.29 avg rating — 1,193 ratings — published 2022 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bicycles 4.07 avg rating — 1,146 ratings — published 2009 — 20 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day 4.41 avg rating — 1,027 ratings — published 1978 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Selected Poems, 1968-1995 by Nikki Giovanni, Virginia Fowler (Illustrator) 4.39 avg rating — 977 ratings — published 1996 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hip Hop Speaks to Children: A Celebration of Poetry with a Beat by Nikki Giovanni, Alicia Vergel de Dios (Illustrator), Damian Ward (Illustrator) 4.32 avg rating — 769 ratings — published 2008 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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What frequently challenged or banned adult-themed book should we read in April and May?

[Note: if you want to see different books in the polls, suggest some!]

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

27 votes, 22.1%

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

23 votes, 18.9%

Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

14 votes, 11.5%

Carrie by Stephen King

11 votes, 9.0%

Maurice by E.M. Forster

10 votes, 8.2%

The Flowers of Evil by Charles Baudelaire

10 votes, 8.2%

The Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck, John

9 votes, 7.4%

Of Mice and Men by Steinbeck, John

8 votes, 6.6%

My House by Nikki Giovanni

5 votes, 4.1%

Native Son by Richard Wright

5 votes, 4.1%

122 total votes

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