Chasing Utopia: A Hybrid – Remarkable Poetry and Stories on Race and Justice, Finding the Poetic in the Prosaic

by Nikki Giovanni

With Chasing Utopia, Nikki Giovanni, one of America’s most celebrated artists, demands that the prosaic—flowers, birdsong, winter—be seen as poetic.

The poetry of Nikki Giovanni has spurred movements and inspired songs, turned hearts and informed generations. She’s been hailed as a healer and a national treasure. But if her reputation is writ large upon the national stage, her heart resides in the everyday where family and lovers gather, friends commune, and those no longer with us are remembered.

And at every gathering there is food, food as sustenance, food as aphrodisiac, food as memory. A pot of beans are flavored with her mother’s sighs, this sigh part cardamom, that one the essence of clove; a lover requests a banquet as an affirmation of ongoing passion; an homage is paid to the most time-honored appetizer, soup.

Chasing Utopia affirms once again why Nikki Giovanni is as energetic, “remarkable” (Gwendolyn Brooks), “wonderful” (Marian Wright Edleman), “outspoken, prolific, energetic” (New York Times), and as relevant as ever

Genres: Poetry, Essays, Nonfiction, Memoir, African American, Biography Memoir, Literary Fiction

162 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 29, 2013

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t love these poems as much as I thought I would. But Nikki Giovanni was such a remarkable presence while I read--warm and caring and funny and familiar. Like kin.

I don’t often feel like this about poets. Usually they sort of stand on the mountaintop and I’m in the valley straining to hear the missives they send down. But Nikki let herself in the back door and came right into the kitchen, served me from the pot of beans on the stove, then sat next to me at the table where we enjoyed her poems together.

The mixture of verse and prose poems worked beautifully.

From Our Job Safety is Your Priority with Coffee: “I like to think poems are maps--they don’t Google but rather guide us along the way. There is no destination on a country road. You see an old woman slightly bent moving through the field. A frisky calf frolicking. Sometimes a deer standing still. Why would there be a destination when life itself is a journey? You go not to get there but to be there.”

Even though her poems didn’t wow me, I hope Nikki comes back to visit soon.

[Bri Little · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Every piece was like a conversation with Ms. Giovanni. Warm and knowing and full of care. Her poetry is so accessible. I hope to meet her one day.

[Dona's Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first time reading Nikki Giovanni and I loved it. I didn't take any notes on this one because I vibed with it so completely. I alternated reading the poems with listening to her short essays and it was a brilliant read that way.

I recommend this to fans of feminist poetry and short personal essays.

I found an accessible digital copy of CHASING UTOPIA by Nikki Giovanni on Libby.

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many of these poems and essays are more peaceful than Nikki's previous works that I'm familiar with, coming to her work as did much of the country, after the Virginia Tech massacre. Chasing Utopia (which opens with beer don't you know,) has more food, and down home, and weather, and family.
Other poets, friends, washing dishes for a quarter, the right way to cook your biscuits. There's still some righteous anger, and "these are our heroes," because
let's never forget who Nikki Giovanni is, she is a
Poet-Activist with a capital P, and a capital A, when she's not being that she's a
Poet-Human same rules apply to the capitals
Mystery
Black Woman
Mother
Professor (Distinguished)
and she's over 600 years old look it up and Poet is garlic and her words are going to drill their way right down into your soul and your heart, and maybe your belly too because she'll tell you the truth if you let her.

And let the poems flow
From tears of laughter
From sweat of work
From the deliciousness of tomorrow
To the knowledge of Today

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nikki Giovanni's latest work is as lovely and striking as her work Bicycles. Giovanni's agility, grace, and playfulness with words delight, surprise, and yet also strike familiar chords within the reader. Given the opportunity, I would most happily share an afternoon of good conversation and coffee with Ms. Giovanni, but short of this her works are a good substitute. Well done, Ms. Giovanni. And, thank you.

[Valerie O'Brien · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED every word of this book. Giovanni delivers an AMAZING collection of short stories and poems that will warm your spirit, make you laugh, and possibly shed tears. I did.

[Denise Billings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each poem, each essay is a nugget to savor, to smile about, to think about. I related to so much of Nikki's life. Driving the VW, the "sick and shut-in", the love, calling her mother "Mommy", the giggles, sleeping, the debates with Grandpapa. I found myself nodding and "um hm-ing" as if I were in a conversation with her.

[Che · Rating 3 out of 5]

"No matter what they call it today, tomorrow they will call it Genius. Tomorrow they will teach classes about it; write books about it; give lectures on it. Folk will be awarded tenure for explaining why this line goes that way though of course only you and I know why. The artist felt it. The artist was true to herself; true to himself."

Thank you for being true to yourself, Nikki.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nikki Giovanni is one of my favorite poets. The poetry in this collection has the same personal, conversational tone I'm used to. Poems about love, childhood, politics, black identity, loss. What I especially loved about this book was the mix of poems and short essays. To get more of a glimpse of the person who wrote the verse you love is a delight.

[Apoorva Ranade · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I like being
The moon
To your sun”

Some of the poetry was moving and I loved the whimsical writing.

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely prose and accessible poetry combined in this delightful volume. And Giovanni is a local author! If this pandemic ever ends and I ever leave the house again for things that are not constant doctors' appointments, maybe I will run into Giovanni at Target or wherever and I will be so excited that I can't decide if I would be chill or fangirl all over her. (Based on how she reacted to meeting Nina Simone, inviting her to a party she was throwing because famous people probably don't get invited places by normal people, I have to assume that she wouldn't mind being approached.)

Pieces that resonated with me:
- In Defense of Flowers - the first time I've thought about the statement "in lieu of flowers" and recognizing that beauty for beauty's sake is worthwhile
- When My Phone Trembles - about the jolt of fear when you receive a late-night phone call
- Allowables - because of the way it parallels a mundane occurrence (killing a spider) with violence against others (making me think about state/police violence against black bodies; though this collection came out in 2013)
- Our Job Safety is Your Priority with Coffee - for the peek into Giovanni's editing process when it comes to poetry, and because I love her coffee poem:

Vitamin C prevents
Colds

A and D do sunshine
Things

We need Calcium
For strong bones
And

There must be something
For the eyes
Carrots, Cabbage, Lettuce
You never saw
A blind rabbit

And I have a friend
Who thinks Salmon
Will prevent
A loss of your mind

But I believe
In Coffee
Drip
Percolated
Pressed
Coffee
Black, not sweet
No cream
Coffee
Which smells like morning
And feels like friendship

Coffee

While we laugh
And preview
Our day

- I Give Easily - because yo, it's hard to let people love you by helping you, even when you need it
- The Scared and the Vulnerable - because in a more peaceful way, Giovanni's poem reminded me of the Niemöller "First they came..." poem about the Holocaust.

100% worth checking out her work.

[Jherane Patmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Idk what I was expecting when I picked up this book, but it wasn't musings on coffee, Sisyphus, soups, poetry, and beer. It's a comforting and cozy read.

[S꩜phie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally read the book that contains my most favorite poem! And then I got a tattoo inspired by it! Yippee!

[sabre · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Why would there be a destination when life itself is a journey? You go not to get there but to be there.” Nice way to bring in the new year during very unsettling and dare I say unprecedented times. The short stories and poems are excellent and feel very cozy. I also just like how much Nikki liked writing about drinking lmao like she loved her self a few glasses and tbh me too

[NaTaya Hastings · Rating 5 out of 5]

*I won this through First Reads Giveaways*

You know, I had initially rated this book four stars, but then I had to go back and give it five stars. This book of poetry (and essays) is just... it is simply amazing. Giovanni writes beautifully; her pen aims straight for the heart. Her poems, seemingly about everyday things and occurrences, say so much more than what is actually on the page. These poems celebrate the simplicity of every day living and the complexity of life all at once.

The essays are great, too, but my real love affair is with the poems. This book contains poems such as "These Women," "I Wish I Could Live (in a Book)," "I Wish I Could Live (in Music)," and "Spider Waltz." These poems celebrate womanhood and love and heartbreak and family, most of all, family.

I recommend this book to everyone -- EVERYONE. I believe that even people who don't enjoy poetry could enjoy this poetry.

[Nadine in NY Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

The poems and essays in this book didn’t really work for me. Too much frosting, not enough cupcake.


one of my favorites:

Thirst
At 2:30 or maybe 3:00 a.m. I have tossed
And turned all I can:
I'm thirsty

But if I get up to drink I'll have to
Get up again
To go to the bathroom

Thirst wins

Stumbling into my house
Shoes
I got to the kitchen
To find the lemonade

My mother
Were she still here
Would complain:
You don't drink enough water.
Adam's Ale is the best thing
But I don't like water
I, like most Americans,
Take my water
With sugar or fruit juices
Or any disguise I can find

Leaning over the sink
With a bit of real lemonade dripping down
My chin
I feel the coolness
Float into my lungs
And that blessed relief
That says Thirst
Has been satisfied

Feeling myself once again in bloom
I smile
Return to my bed
And await my next
Adventure.

[Mike]

I feel like I probably ought to have liked this book better but I just didn't connect with it. There was something about the tone which I liked, the ease of it, the familiar nature. Like sitting around my grandma's dining table. Familiar, comfortable. And some of the poems did hit me hard, like "Allowables." Mostly it wasn't to my taste, though.

[Mo the Lawyer✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must preface this review with saying that, as an aspiring writer and poetry lover, I personally revere Nikki Giovanni as one of the most phenomenal and prolific poets of my lifetime. Indeed, she is a natural treasure whose writing stoked my passion for poetry decades ago. And while this is not my most favorite of her collections, it is a remarkable and noteworthy collection.

I found this collection of poetry and essays to be more personal than some of her other writing. Nikki writes here about her personal relationships with family, friends and lovers and about her deep fiery passions for writing, literature, art and music. She touches on love and mourning, experiencing and healing. She intertwines into many of these works how food intersects with relationships particularly with family. Examples given were her grandmother's greens, grits, biscuits and special spice blends and her mother's love for beer and pig feet or her memories of making meals with and for her family. She touches also briefly on her own dealings with violence, family illness and natural disaster.

Because I am a bibliophile who also has a deep passion for music and art, my favorite poems in this collection were "I Wish I Could Live (in a Book)," "I Wish I Could Live (in Music)," and "I Wish I Could Live (in a Painting)." And as an aspiring writer, I also enjoyed Nikki's essay on how she edits her own work.

If you love poetry and you love Nikki Giovanni, don't miss this one.

[Cindy · Rating 1 out of 5]

/this book is full of amazing poems. Even when they look like essays, they are really poems at heart.

The Lone Ranger Rides the Lonesome Trail Again

I watched The Visitor

They
Like boys shaking salt on slugs
Chased
Deported
Misunderstood
The pain
Were indifferent to
The lives
They were destroying

They tried to convince
Me
They were protecting
Me
Those boys
Who explained
Why they were throwing
Stones at mother robin
Breaking her wing
And preventing not her flight
But her ability to feed
Her three little hatchlings
Who were condemned to death
By starvation
They laughed in nazi-ese
They were only doing
Their jobs

What pitiful
Little gerbils
We have
Become
We live
To keep others
From living

I saw The Visitor
Play his drum
While Sarah Palin
Field-dressed a moose
and encouraged her daughter
To have sex
With her oldest son
Sarah was
After all
Too busy at the PTA
Explaining what abstinence means

Oh boy
What ecstasy

I am embraced
With lies
And hypocrisy

Hug me, Baby
Do it Good

I am an American
My life
Is a fucking prison

Hi Ho, Silver
Away!!!!

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, Nikki Giovanni does not disappoint. "Chasing Utopia: A Hybrid" has a mixture of short 1-3 page snippets of Nikki's life, as well as more of her much loved poetry. "Chasing Utopia" has well established commentary of not only her life, but also the world at large. Nikki has a good way of embarking her wisdom as she has grown older, sharing her own personal joys and what brings her utopia, as well as keeping history as real as she can in the form of poetry and prose. She also makes sure to include family anecdotes that I think many people will be able to relate to as a lot of them have to do with food and cooking. A lot of her poems in "Chasing Utopia" use recipes, cooking or the process of eating as a way to relate to people, which makes a lot of sense since humans use food as a way to connect. This is a book I will keep on my shelf for snippets of wisdom, history, warmth and comfort.

[Mitzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

"when the girl became
a poet
she was so happy

now she could sing her own song
tell tales of her people

be a truth giver
contribute
something beautiful and useful to the world" (from "When the Girl Became a Poet")

I feel like this sums up Giovanni's poetry. She is either celebrating life or making us pause for reflection on events and history. Like most poetry I think it is better read aloud. Some of her poetry about the Civil War and current events are particularly memorable.

[Drick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of poems and a few essays reveals the down to earth, fun loving nature of Nikki Giovanni. I had not read much of Giovanni's work and so did not know what to expect, but I heard an interview with her and found her to be an intriguing person. I was not overly moved by the collection as a whole, although there were some poems that took everyday experiences like thirst or friendship and made it something deeper. I am intrigued to read more of her work before passing judgment.

[Natalie T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Direct, engaging, warm, thought-provoking and always beautiful poems from one of our great writers. She writes with equal power of the everyday details of life and of political issues, and sprinkles the pages with memories of encounters in her past--I particularly recommend "And Everyone Will Answer," which involves an encounter with Toni Morrison, and "Nickels for Nina," about Nina Simone, and the heart-stopping "When My Phone Trembles," which should be widely anthologized.

[Greta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nikki Giovanni writes her poetry with a flair for what is most meaningful in her life. At times very sweet or silly, always heartfelt and seemingly honest. But, listening to her writing rather than reading it quietly to myself was fun at first and a little ho-hum after 95 pages, thus I confess I didn't hear all of it.

[Kelly Buchanan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful collection of essays and poems, full of whimsy, sincerity, and deep-down love. Giovanni touches on what it means to be a poet, an artist, a compassionate person in a world that increasingly attempts to devalue these things. She saves her highest praise for the things that make life worth the living - art, music, family, flowers, coffee, good food, and big loves. A pleasure to read.

[Latonya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nikki Giovanni is a national treasure. Chasing Utopia’s title is a spin on Nikki seeking the most expensive beer on the planet in honor of her departed mother. This cozy collection of poems and short essays is like a nice long conversation with your favorite auntie...while drinking a great glass of Pinot Noir.

[Nicholas Summerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly heartwarming yet profound. Nikki Giovanni touches on a myriad of subjects, all of which develop this book into one that enriches the soul and empowers the mind. I recommend this to anyone. The poems are mostly simple and easy to understand, but Giovanni's style, word choice and lyricism is still profound and poetic. I will totally read this again.

[Kathy Duffy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy Nikki Giovanni's poetry and short essays or stories that are included.... she is someone, I'd like to meet and share a beer with on a porch. Some of her poems come across as soft and simple verse but get right to the heart of a matter -- her approach sometimes appears a soft meander but goes arrow straight.

[Colton Nibbe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poets

Poets shouldn't commit
Suicide
That would leave the world
To those without imagination
Or hearts

That would bequeath
To the world
A mangled syntax
And no love
Of champagne

Poets must live
In misery and ecstasy
To sing a song
With the katydids

Poets should be ashamed
To die
Before they kiss
The sun

[Andrea Engle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another delightful collection of "down-home" poetry and prose poems from the pen of the irrepressible Nikki Giovanni (the "utopia" of the title being an expensive and elusive beer) ... easy on the eye and deceptively easy on the intellect ... an American gem ...